Harry Potter and the Rising War
by grand griffon
Summary: Harry is Dumbledores apprentice, learning all he can to survive through to the end of 6th. new powers, new ideas and a new magical focus for Harry! COMPLETE
1. Dumbledore’s Revelation

Harry Potter and the Rising War  
  
***  
  
Chapter 1: Dumbledore's Revelation  
  
In his lonely room at number four Privet Drive sat a boy at a desk. The boy looked to be 16; he had shoulder-length jet black hair that framed his well defined face and covered his lightning bolt shaped scar; he had the beginnings of a beard, and he had intensely bright emerald-green eyes. The scar on his forehead was the source of his problems – after, of course, the one who put it there: Voldemort.  
  
When Harry got home from the long (and unusually quiet due to Mad-Eye Moody's warning) drive back from Kings Cross Station, he went straight up to his room and locked himself in there. The mourning process had begun. Just a few weeks ago, Harry's closest link to a family had been taken away from him: Sirius Black was killed. And he blamed himself. Sure, he wasn't the one who had sent the curse at him; he wasn't the one who had lied to get him there – but he had placed himself in danger and Sirius responded to it, which ended in his life being taken away from him.  
  
'Why? Why was I so stupid, Hedwig?' Harry asked, as he placed the owl's cage on top of his wardrobe. As if in reply, Hedwig gave a soft, sad hoot.  
  
'I should have used the mirror! I should have stuck it out with the occlumency lessons. I should have let the Order handle things,' Harry said exasperatedly to himself.  
  
'Sirius died because of my stupidity,' Harry thought to himself as he put his head in his hands and sighed. 'Why me? All I ever wanted was to be normal, but now with this prophecy hanging over my head I'll be even further from it.' Harry sat there lost in thought for what felt like hours, just thinking and drowning in his own self-pity and guilt, until his aunt disrupted him from his thoughts.  
  
'Dinner is ready! If you're not down in two minutes, then we will let Dudley have it,' she said through the door.  
  
'Well, that must mean that I'll have something respectable to eat, if she's threatening that Dudley will have it!' Harry thought to himself as he got up from his bed and went down to the kitchen to have a surprisingly normal-looking portion of food.  
  
Things went on rather the same for Harry for the next few days. He would get up at whatever time he felt like – if he hadn't already been woken from his nightmares or from seeing snippets of what Voldemort was doing – then he would go and take a shower before getting some breakfast. The rest of the day was spent either thinking, or blaming himself for all of the death he had caused and thinking of Sirius. That is, except for every third day, when he would send an owl to the order. On the seventh day, however, his routine was broken as a brown, pompous-looking tawny owl arrived. Harry had no clue as to who it was from, so he carefully untied its note, and examined it for any tampering; looking for what he didn't know, because if it had been magically tampered with, he lacked the experience to judge.  
  
The note seemed okay, so Harry opened it and began to read, but he couldn't get past the opening sentence. His eyes watered and a lump had risen in his throat. The first sentence read:  
  
'Last Will and Testament of Sirius Orion Black.'  
  
Harry couldn't bring himself to read any further. If he did then that would be it: it would all be over with, and Sirius would be gone forever. Harry sat looking at the piece of parchment for hours, but not really seeing it; he was just thinking how unnecessary this was, were it not for his stupidity. He was in such deep thought that he didn't even hear when the door was knocked, or when his uncle shouted at someone, or when Dudley let out a rather loud whimper.  
  
'Ah, I was wondering if you might have any difficulty reading that letter,' said an ancient voice that succeeded in disrupting Harry's chain of thoughts. He whirled around quickly, reaching for his wand from the desk that he was sitting at, to come face to face with the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore. Harry sighed with relief and put his wand away, which Dumbledore chuckled at.  
  
'Professor, what are you doing here?' Harry asked, after getting over the initial shock of seeing the esteemed headmaster in his room, and then getting over the embarrassment when he remembered what had happened at the end of the last school year in the headmaster's office when he lost his temper. (He had been so angry at the old man that he had thrown objects around and broken them; but that wasn't the worse thing: the headmaster had cried over Harry's treatment and burden, which really made him feel even worse later.)  
  
'Well I had a few things to discuss with you, and I wanted to see how you were coping. I was informed of the will being sent out today, and thought it may be a very hard time for you now,' he replied with a sad tone. 'Have you read any of it yet, Harry?' Dumbledore asked him.  
  
'Only the first sentence,' Harry answered honestly. 'If I read any more then it will be final, and I will have to accept that there is no way back, he is truly gone,' Harry said, with tears brimming from his eyes; then he added as an afterthought, 'And it's all my fault.'  
  
'Harry, there is no point in playing the "blame game," as muggles call it. Everyone could have a go and accept equal parts of the blame: me for withholding information from you and ignoring you for a whole year; Professor Snape for discontinuing your Occlumency lessons; Remus Lupin for not stopping Sirius from helping the rescue; your friends for not stopping you – it could go on forever,' Dumbledore said. 'He died for a good cause, for the right cause, and doing the thing he loved: looking out for his godson,' the professor said, finishing barely above a whisper.  
  
Harry sighed. He knew Dumbledore was right, and now it was time to face the facts. He nodded to Dumbledore, who seemed to understand, and smiled back at him – with a smile he had missed since the headmaster had avoided him all last year, a smile that made Harry look to Dumbledore not as a great leader, or a powerful wizard, or even a professor, but as family, like a grandfather. He looked down at the letter and took a deep breath before reading:  
  
'Last Will and Testament of Sirius Orion Black.  
'I, Sirius Orion Black, being of sound mind and body, hereby do name Harry James Potter, of the most ancient and noble line of Potter,' (Harry chuckled at this despite the tears,) 'as the heir of the most ancient and noble line of Black. In accordance with Wizarding Law, Harry James Potter will receive full ownership of the Black family vaults when he is of legal wizarding age – excluding vault number 723, whose ownership rights will be received by one Remus J. Lupin. The property at the allotted space in 12 Grimmauld Place, and all contents therein, will be received by one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, to use as he sees fit. The aforementioned Heir of the Black family will also receive all contents held within the storage space within the UK branch of Gringotts Wizarding Bank in Diagon Alley. So it has been Written; so shall it be Done.'  
  
Harry chuckled again after finishing reading the will; trust Sirius to be over-dramatic, even in his death! He scanned the will again before noticing that there was another piece of parchment underneath it. Curious, Harry looked up to Dumbledore to see if this was a common occurrence with wizarding wills, and judging from the twinkle in his eyes Harry guessed that it wasn't. But he had expected something like this, so Harry took the second parchment and began reading it. It was a letter from Sirius.  
  
_'Dear Harry,  
'If you are reading this letter now, it means two things: I'm dead, and the war is still raging on. And if the war is raging on, then chances are that I died in service with the Order; and knowing you like I do, then you're probably finding a way to blame yourself for my death. But I want you to know that however I died, it was not your fault; and that I died with you in mind, because ultimately I was fighting for you, to take revenge on the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord for the life that they prevented you from having. I can assure you that if I died in a battle, then I died doing what I loved, and that is what truly matters.  
'Now enough about death! I think it's far too over-rated. In the words of a great man and an even better friend, 'Death is only the next great adventure.' Now on to the good bits.  
'I was planning on giving you this on your seventeenth birthday, but obviously I can't. But inside my private vault you will find a deed to a plot of land. It's yours, or more specifically it belongs to 'the most ancient and noble line of Potters.' That's right, you guessed it, the deed is for where your childhood home was, Godric's Hollow.  
'Secondly, I want you to know, even if I never did get the courage to say it to you: I love you, Harry. From the day you were born, I couldn't get enough of you. I was amazed that James and Lily could make something so perfect. I know I haven't been around for long, but even if I didn't know you, all I would need to know is that you are the son of Lily and James Potter to know that you are a great wizard, and an even better person, and also a prankster and rule-breaker at heart.  
'This brings me to the next order of business: in the same vault as the deeds, you will find a few books that the Marauders compiled (with some of the more ingenious spells and potions and such, like the animagus transformation). I was hoping to show you myself one day, but it seems time caught up with me.  
  
'To bring this letter to a close, I ask of you two things to honour the dead: the first is to make sure that you live your life, have a little fun, and try and act your age for once. I know it may be a little hard given the circumstances, but try. The second is not to mourn my death, but rather to celebrate my life.  
'With much love forever and more,  
  
'Sirius Black.'  
_  
After Harry had finished the letter he sat in thought, letting what Sirius told him roll around in his mind. 'Not your fault,' 'don't mourn my death, celebrate my life.' It took the clearing of a throat for Harry to remember that Dumbledore was still in the room. Harry looked to Dumbledore to see him smiling his grandfatherly smile again, with that twinkle in his eyes also. But something else was there too; what was that, was it pride? Was there pride in the old headmaster's eyes for Harry?  
  
'Was it as bad as you thought, Harry?' the old man asked softly.  
  
'No, it actually helped a lot; I don't think there is anything that can be said that will take away all of the guilt – but I do feel ...' Harry began to reply but stopped. He didn't quite know how to put into words how he felt, but he did know he felt better and more accepting of the fact that Sirius wasn't going to be coming back. Dumbledore seemed to understand what he meant, because he simply nodded his understanding.  
  
It was then that Harry realised that the professor had come here to discuss a few things with Harry, and when he mentioned this to the old headmaster he chuckled and replied, 'Ah yes, I do tend to stray off topic every now and then; though I do believe this is the first time I have strayed off topic before I even got onto it!' He smiled at Harry and then began talking once more.  
  
'The first thing I am going to discuss with you may be not only a little embarrassing for you, but also a little shocking, so please just bear with me. It is very important, and a little difficult to understand,' Dumbledore began with amusement written all over his face.  
  
'This can't be good,' Harry thought to himself. 'If Dumbledore is amused by this, then that means it will be VERY embarrassing for me.'  
  
'Okay, professor. So what is it?' Harry prompted when the headmaster wouldn't continue.  
  
'Harry, do you know about sorcerers?' Dumbledore asked.  
  
Whatever Harry had been expecting, this most certainly wasn't it. It didn't seem embarrassing at all, but then again Dumbledore was a strange man, so this could lead to anything.  
  
'No, all I know is that you are one, and so is Voldemort,' Harry replied.  
  
'That's correct – though Voldemort acquired the level of sorcery from transformations, whereas I grew into mine. Answer me please, Harry: have you ever wondered why you seem to be the only one in your year and possibly the year below you who haven't started to mature, to go through puberty?' Dumbledore said.  
  
So this was what he was building up to. 'Well, he was wrong about me being a little embarrassed, ha... I'm COMPLETELY embarrassed!' Harry thought. Obviously Harry was turning red now, because Dumbledore chuckled at him again.  
  
'W-well, I was beginning to w-wonder, b-but... I never had the courage to say anything about it. Ron has asked me a few times, in his own way, but I was too much of a coward. So much for Gryffindor Courage,' Harry stuttered and mumbled whilst looking at the floor, trying to hide his blush. 'Where is this going, anyway?' Harry asked, thinking that he might try to speed things up to get out of this situation fast.  
  
'I will tell you in a moment; but first I would like to point out that I myself did not experience puberty until the age of 16, in fact not until my 16th birthday,' said Dumbledore. Harry was shocked by this announcement, but what shocked him the most was that he seemed to be proud of the fact. Dumbledore waited a few moments then began talking again, but this time it seemed that he was talking more to himself than to Harry.  
  
'Ah yes, 16, that was a good year for me! I had my first bag of lemon drops; of course, back then they tasted more of natural lemon; what I wouldn't give to taste them again! Best lemon drops I've ever had; shame I only got one bag,' Dumbledore was saying. It took Harry three tries of calling his name before bringing the professor back to the present day. 'Oh, very sorry Harry; like I said, I tend to go off subject sometimes,' he chuckled. 'Now where were we?' Dumbledore asked.  
  
'I think you were about to explain what me being so slow to – erm – to – you know,' Harry finished feebly.  
  
'Go through puberty?' Dumbledore asked with the twinkle in his eyes.  
  
'The old coot's enjoying seeing me embarrassed!' Harry thought.  
  
'Yeah, that's it,' Harry answered with more confidence, hoping to stop Dumbledore finding the whole scene amusing.  
  
'Well you see, Harry, as a wizard or witch begins puberty, their magic grows with them, so you could say they have a magical growth spurt. You, however, (and myself when I was your age,) have a higher capacity for magic than most wizard folk. Which means that as you go through the years, the magic growth spurt does not happen, because you have a higher limit for the amount of magic you possess – so your body aims to fill it, which ultimately means your body will not need to change as your magic grows to make more room for the growing magic. Do you understand so far?' Dumbledore asked.  
  
'I think so. So what's happening to me is like what happens if a witch or wizard exhausted too much of their magic, their body has to replenish the magic used?' Harry replied.  
  
Dumbledore smiled and then answered 'Correct, Harry, except you are not replenishing it, but building it up.'  
  
'So I won't go through puberty then? I'll look like a slightly large 11-year-old forever?' Harry asked worriedly.  
  
Dumbledore chuckled again before he answered, 'No, Harry, you will not look like an overgrown 11-year-old for the rest of your life; as you can see, I don't look like an 11-year-old, and Voldemort most certainly does not. Once your limit has been reached, then you will experience puberty; and for some unknown reason the body always aims to fill the required amount of magical room by the 16th birthday, which is very intriguing. You will not grow over time, however, it will only be one night; or more precisely, at 16 years after the moment you were born,' the professor explained.  
  
'So what will happen to me then? Will I look normal?' Harry asked.  
  
'I won't lie to you, Harry. The transformation hurts, a lot; but it is something that you must endure, I'm afraid; there is no stopping it. It lasts for only a couple of hours, but once it is finished you will look however your body needs to, to sustain the amount of magic that you will have. At this time I don't know how much it will be. It could be a little more than you have already, or it could be a lot more; only time will tell,' Dumbledore said.  
  
'But if the magic has been growing inside of me for so long, and by my 16th birthday it will reach its limit, why will it need to change my body if it is already handling that amount of magic?' Harry asked.  
  
'The magic that you have at the moment has a specific use. You see, it takes a great deal of magic to change the body as drastically as it will, and the normal process for this doesn't have enough time or magic at hand to do it this way. Your magic growth speed has been the same as any other wizard or witch your age; except when you get closer to your birthday, the speed in which it grows will increase, which will result in you feeling more energetic. Once you transform, you will have a bigger limit as to the amount of magic to fill and at your disposal. The magic you have in you now, in truth, is what most fully-matured wizards will have when they are around 60,' Dumbledore answered.  
  
'So let me get this straight: I haven't gone through puberty yet because my magic has been holding it back, so that it can model my body to the way it needs when it reaches its limit and knows how much more room it will need; so when I become 16 at the exact second I was born, my body will painfully change to my magic's wish, so it will be able to hold more magic?' Harry asked in a tone that suggested he wanted nothing of the sort to happen.  
  
'That's right, which means that you are a sorcerer, just like me. But I wasn't quite sure at first, which is why I'm telling you this so close to your transformation. Now then, to the next order of business: you will be brought to the Order's headquarters two days before your birthday, which I believe is not much less than a month away. Whilst at Headquarters, with your permission, I have decided to bring you into the Order – if you want to,' said Dumbledore, now grinning back at Harry's silly grin.  
  
'Is this some kind of joke?' Harry asked in amazement. 'Of course I want to!' he exclaimed.  
  
'Excellent!' Dumbledore answered. 'However, I had a hard time convincing Molly Weasley and other members to induct you, and as such I had to tell the Order the contents of the smashed prophecy that was being kept in the Department of Mysteries. They reluctantly agreed, but Molly insists that only you be allowed to join,' Dumbledore said.  
  
'So that means Ron and Hermione aren't allowed to join?' Harry asked, now feeling less elated at the idea. 'Surely they wouldn't like this, and no doubt I won't be allowed to tell them anything,' he thought grimly to himself.  
  
'I'm afraid that is correct, which also means you will not be able to discuss any of the Order business with them, at Molly's request, also,' Dumbledore said sadly. He also obviously knew the reaction that Harry would get from giving them the news.  
  
'Now for the last order of business. Due to you being a sorcerer and all, I would like to offer you the position of apprentice to me. I will teach you all that I know and all that I can. Usually this sort of thing only happens between family members; but I consider you as such, Harry, and I hope that you feel the same,' Dumbledore said, again with the smile. Harry's previous mood from hearing Ron and Hermione were not to be inducted to the Order was lifted at these words. The greatest wizard of modern times, asking if he, a not-quite-16-year-old boy, would be his apprentice; but even more, he was considered family! Harry was positively beaming at this. He couldn't find words to answer Dumbledore; he didn't know what to say to this sort of thing. After all, he had grown up for 11 years without being shown or given any affection or love, minus the one year when he'd had a loving mother, father, and godfather. In answer to Dumbledore, Harry nodded dumbly, but with a huge smile on his face and, once again, tears in his eyes.  
  
Dumbledore, seeing Harry's visage and tears, got the answer he was hoping for, and smiled back, understanding that the boy wouldn't know how to respond to this kind of situation.  
  
'Excellent, you have made an old man very happy, Harry. I ask now that you go to Diagon Alley sometime soon and get some books and other items that take your fancy. I daresay you have enough money for it. The sort of books that I would suggest is anything but conventional magic; for example, books on becoming an Animagus, or books on spell creation and adaptation. Learn as much as you can. Your parents and Sirius gave their lives for you to live, and that cannot be done until Tom Riddle is killed once and for all. Do not let their sacrifices be in vain,' Dumbledore said as he began rooting around in his pockets for something. When he couldn't locate what he was looking for, he began to take things out of them, and some of the things he had in there were downright weird! Out of his right hand pocket he pulled a rubber chicken; from his inside pocket he pulled out a book that was easily the size of a breeze block (that is used in the foundation of muggle homes). This process continued in the same way for several minutes until he shouted an excited 'Aha!' and pulled out a red baseball cap. Upon seeing the confused look on Harry's face, he explained.  
  
'It is one of the Weasley Twins' new inventions for the Order. It disguises the wearer to a set illusion, and this one I believe is of a 30-year-old bald man.'  
  
'And what am I to do with it, sir?' Harry asked, eyeing the hat with suspicion, as anything that came from the Weasley twins was prone to explode, given the correct conditions.  
  
'When you go to Diagon alley, it will disguise you from the public – and more importantly, from any stray Death Eaters that may be wandering around. It also acts as a portkey that will transport you here to your room, if you say "Prongs,"' Dumbledore explained, before rising off the conjured chair that Harry hadn't noticed him conjuring up. He offered the hat to Harry, who tried it on. At first he didn't feel anything, but then he got a familiar feeling: the same one he got when he had the disillusionment charm placed on him, like cold water pouring over him. Once the feeling stopped he glanced in the mirror to see a bald 30-year-old man looking back with thick black-rimmed spectacles on his face. Dumbledore chuckled at Harry's shock.  
  
'Those Weasley twins really are quite gifted, don't you think?' Dumbledore asked as he stood behind Harry. Harry nodded his agreement, and then took the cap off before turning to Dumbledore.  
  
'Thank you for coming to see me today sir, it's helped a lot. I felt lost without Sirius; I thought I had no more family left, but after today I realise I have a grandfather and a replacement godfather too, if Remus will accept the job,' Harry said, though he realised he would have to remember to ask Remus about that.  
  
'It has been my pleasure, Harry, and I'm sure that Remus would be more than happy to accept the job. I am glad I have finally done something right by you,' Dumbledore said.  
  
Harry smiled sheepishly about that. He had yet to apologise for breaking the headmaster's items. 'Professor, about our last meeting: I want to apologise. I was angry, very angry; and I know that you were only doing what you thought was right. I should not have blown up the way I did, especially not at you; after all, you were only guilty of caring too much for me; and there isn't exactly a big queue of people lining up to care about me at all. So I'm sorry, sir,' Harry said, determined to look the headmaster in the eye and prove he meant every word.  
  
Dumbledore smiled fondly at Harry. He truly did consider the boy to be the grandson he never had. He was happy to have ever been able to say he had known Harry James Potter, the most kind-hearted, thoughtful person any one was ever likely to meet. 'Thank you, Harry, but there was no need; I understand fully what you were feeling. After all, I experienced similar things during the war against the dark wizard Grindelwald, though I didn't have a prophecy telling me it had to be me to kill him. But alas, that is a story for another time, and time is something I am running short of, sadly,' the professor said as he headed for the door. 'First, however, I think we should arrange a trip to London for the day after tomorrow with your blood relatives.'  
  
Harry nodded his head and smiled at the headmaster's use of 'blood relatives.' It was obvious he meant that that was all they were good for: providing the protection to Harry; and that his real family were in the wizarding world. 'Lead the way please, Harry,' Dumbledore said, with the twinkle in his eyes as bright as ever.  
  
'Certainly, professor, please follow me. The master of the house will see you now.' Harry's reply gained an amused chuckle from the headmaster.  
  
Once Harry and Dumbledore reached the living room where all of the Dursleys were currently situated, Dumbledore explained to Uncle Vernon how Harry would need to be taken to London the day after tomorrow. Just as uncle Vernon was about to blow his top, Dumbledore turned his attention to the television.  
  
'Oh my, a TalyVishon, remarkable things! Tell me, do you have little house-elves inside it dressed as muggles, acting out?' Dumbledore asked a scared Dudley. Harry suppressed a laugh at the look on Dudley's face when Dumbledore started talking to him, and then when he pronounced television wrong and said 'house-elf.' It was obvious to Harry what Dumbledore was trying to do: he was going to get the Dursleys so angry and scared that they would agree to anything just to get rid of the 'mad old codger,' as they referred to him later on.  
  
'Yes, yes, I'll take the boy to London; I needed to go anyway. Now if you don't mind, please leave!' Uncle Vernon said, as Dumbledore turned his attention onto the silent Aunt Petunia.  
  
'Why thank you, Mister Dursley; that was very kind of you indeed to offer, what a smashing idea.' Dumbledore replied, as if it wasn't his idea in the first place. 'Harry, would you mind showing me out now, please?' Dumbledore asked Harry, as he turned from Aunt Petunia with a smile. Harry found the whole situation hilarious, and how he managed to not fall to the floor laughing was beyond him. He would have to remember it for when he got to the Order's headquarters to tell Ron and Hermione. When he reached the front door and opened it for Dumbledore, a thought occurred to him.  
  
'Erm, Professor, when and with whom will the Order's call come?' Harry asked.  
  
'Very good question, Harry: I should think it will be Remus, and he will come by two days before your birthday so you are present at the next Order meeting; I should think 3 pm will be suitable,' Dumbledore answered.  
  
'Yes, professor, that will be fine. Thank you again for everything,' Harry replied.  
  
'Goodbye, Harry, I shall see you soon,' Dumbledore said after smiling his thanks. He turned around and was in mid-step when he disappeared with a 'pop.'  
  
'Well, today certainly was very eventful!' Harry thought to himself, as he closed the door.

**A/N: This chapter has been edited and corrected thanks for the superb literature skills of my new Beta David305 (author link here if it worked) . There will not be any more updates until the chapters have been revised by David but with luck it wont take too long and I have yet to write the next chapter (15). Hope you're enjoying the fic.**

**Until next time,**

**                        GG **


	2. Diagon Alley And The Learning Begins

Harry Potter and the Rising War  
  
***  
  
Chapter 2: Diagon Alley And The Learning Begins  
  
After Dumbledore had gone, Harry spent the rest of the day reading and rereading the letter from Sirius. The letter itself gave him sufficient motivation to do everything in his power to take vengeance for his death, and to honour Sirius' last wish for him: to have a normal life. And the only way to do that was to end the war, which was what he was destined to do – or die trying. For the first time in weeks, Harry was able to get a completely peaceful sleep; there were no nightmares, no visions of Voldemort – just blissful, dreamless slumber.  
  
Harry spent the next day mulling over the information that Dumbledore had given him. He was to experience a transformation on his birthday due to a high level of magical energy, and then he was to be Dumbledore's apprentice. He still couldn't believe his luck! On the one hand, he was to be singled out even more: after all, it wasn't every day there was a new sorcerer born and apprenticed to a great wizard like Dumbledore (or in Riddle's case made); but on the other hand, he had the honour to learn everything that Dumbledore had to teach him. And he could only hope to be half of what Dumbledore was. In Harry's eyes, the man was like a legendary hero, an untouchable, unwavering source of goodness and light through times of darkness and of corruption.  
  
Harry's thoughts eventually led him to his own skills at using magic. So far, they weren't up to that much. He had never really tried that hard in any of his subjects. He always had something to worry about or something on his mind, be it an insane dark wizard after his blood or the safety of his godfather. So he never could concentrate or remember too well what he was taught. 'If I'm expected to be Dumbledore's apprentice, then I should put every possible ounce of effort into it. He probably expects me to know all of the previous years' stuff,' he thought. So he decided, to kill some time, he would go over some of the old books he had kept for DADA, Transfiguration and Charms. He had seen the way that Dumbledore and Voldemort battled at the end of last school year. It was intense; they didn't really duel head on, but rather used transfigurations, indirect charms and even apparation. So he decided to look up only those spells that he would be able to use in a battle situation from previous years' books, and let Dumbledore and his other professors teach him the rest of the 'conventional magic,' as Dumbledore told him. And Harry spent the rest of the day, and much of the night, looking through books.  
  
'Boy! Get your lazy backside out of bed now! We're leaving in 15 minutes, and if you're not ready then we will leave without you,' Uncle Vernon's voice rang through the door to Dudley's second bedroom, and also through the thin blanket of slumber that Harry was lavishing in.  
  
Harry sat up groggily rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He reached for his glasses, found them and put them on his face; then he looked at the blinking digital alarm clock on his bedside table. It read '9:45 am.' Harry was surprised he had slept so long. 'But then,' he thought, 'I was up half the night researching spells and magic.' Sighing, Harry got out of bed, after knocking the last book he had been reading ('Standard Book of Spells: Grade 5') off of his lap, and went to the bathroom to wash up before dressing and grabbing the red baseball cap.  
  
''Bout time you got yourself out of that bed! It's disgusting, sleeping in this long!' Harry's aunt Petunia commented as she saw Harry enter the kitchen with 5 minutes to spare. Harry just ignored his aunt's criticism and grabbed some toast off the table, receiving the customary annoyed glare his uncle sent him. 'He was obviously hoping I had slept in,' Harry thought.  
  
'I see you've taken to hiding that awful hair of yours with caps,' Aunt Petunia said, as she noticed the red baseball cap in Harry's hands.  
  
'Not really, why would I want to do something like that?' Harry replied, knowing he was getting on her nerves by talking back to her. She just replied with a 'Humph,' and left the kitchen.  
  
'Can we go yet?' Harry asked uncle Vernon across the table, who was trying to hide his slowly purpling face from view behind a newspaper.  
  
'We're waiting for Dudley to find his shoes,' Uncle Vernon said in a forced calm voice. Right then, Dudley walked in wearing his found shoes, followed by Aunt Petunia.  
  
The ride to London was fairly quiet; halfway there, Uncle Vernon began stating the rules that Harry was to abide by whilst in the company of his family, and also what time he was to meet them back at the parking spot.  
  
'I don't want to see any of your abnormal objects in this car, so make sure that they are all covered up or in bags if you know what's good for you. I don't care what that weirdo with the funny eye says, I'll teach you a lesson if you disobey me. Understand?' he asked at one point. Harry just sat there nodding his head and only half listening to his rant, until he heard when he was to be back at the parking spot.  
  
As it turned out, Uncle Vernon found a parking space just around the corner from the Leaky Cauldron, so Harry only had a short distance to walk. The first thing that Harry did before going into the pub was put his cap on, and then he practiced talking in a low voice, as the hat only disguised one's appearance. Finally satisfied with his appearance and voice, he walked into the Leaky Cauldron and walked straight through without attracting so much as a glance from any of the people at the bar. Once Harry had gone through the archway into Diagon Alley, he headed straight to Gringotts Bank. He wanted to transfer all of the funds that he had access to into one vault, and then see what was in Sirius' personal vault and storage space. He wondered if the motorcycle that was in Sirius' will was the same one that used to be in his dreams before he found out that he was a wizard. He also wanted to take out some money, and exchange some of it for muggle funds. He wanted to get some new clothes, and also have a look around some of the stores to see what the muggles had to offer.  
  
Once inside the bank, he approached one of the goblins that ran the place. 'Good morning, I would like to transfer all assets from the Black family vaults that are accessible to Mr Harry Potter into Harry Potters vault; here are the keys,' Harry said. He handed over the keys which he had received the day before from the Ministry of Magic, after the public reading of Sirius' will. The goblin didn't find this transaction at all odd – or if he did, he didn't show his surprise or voice any question.  
  
'Everything will be transferred over as soon as possible; is there anything else I can do for you?' the goblin said as he took the keys.  
  
'Yes please, I would like to take out the deed to Godric's Hollow from Mr Sirius Black's personal vault, and any books that might be in there; and from Harry Potter's vault I would like to make a withdrawal, and then a cash exchange for some muggle money,' Harry replied; and again the goblin didn't question him. Once everything had been taken care of, Harry came out of the bank with a bag full of galleons, and a wallet full of notes. In total, Harry had over £2000 on him, and a muggle credit card that would magically charge anything, be it magical or muggle, to his account.  
  
Harry's next stop was Flourish and Blotts' bookstore. He would look for some spell creation and alteration books, as Dumbledore had suggested, and also for any other books that piqued his interest. He didn't need any animagus books, due to the Marauders' notes he had taken from Sirius' private vault. When he couldn't find very many helpful books, Harry went to the shop assistant and asked her about this.  
  
'I'm sorry, but we don't really sell many books that deal with other types of magic, as we get mainly students and professors who shop here; but you might like to try Knockturn Alley,' she replied to him. Harry thanked her and then exited the store once more. He headed to Knockturn alley; he really needed to be sure what he was going to study to know if he was going to need anything extra. When he arrived at the Alley it was exactly how he remembered it: dirty, smelly, and filled with a lot of people that you wouldn't want to meet on a dark night. Luckily for Harry, he was left alone, and soon located a bookstore; though it did not have a name on the outside, which Harry found odd. Entering it, Harry got a strong smell of – well, he wasn't sure what.  
  
'What do you want here?' the shopkeeper asked Harry, eyeing him suspiciously. Harry supposed this was because not many people came here openly, displaying their true appearance.  
  
'I'm looking for books that deal with unconventional magic,' Harry replied. At seeing the man's blank look, Harry explained what he meant, and was immediately led to an out-of-view corner of the store. It didn't take Harry very long until he came across some books that struck his interest. The first was a book on spell alteration and creation. It seemed very insightful; it began at a beginner's level and it finished at skilled. 'This one is perfect, exactly what I had in mind!' Harry thought. The next book was about magic itself: how it worked, why it worked and the history of its use; this one also looked very interesting. After about half an hour of searching, he came back to the counter with 7 books all told. In addition to the first two, he had a book on how wands and other objects that could concentrate and withdraw magic were created and worked; strange talents; magical enhancements; elemental powers; and finally, enchanting muggle objects. He thought that it would be handy to use a few muggle things, but he would have to look up the laws that might govern their enchantment.  
  
'Is that all you will be wanting?' the shop keeper asked him. Harry began nodding his head but stopped. He had almost forgotten about Transfiguration, which would play a big role in what was to come.  
  
'I need something for transfiguration; do you have any suggestions?' Harry asked.  
  
'Try that shelf just there and look for "Obscure Transfigurations,"' the man said, pointing to a shelf that looked like it hadn't been touched in years. Harry walked over to the shelf and quickly found the book that he was looking for, but his eye was also caught by the title of the book next to it. It read, 'So You Want To Transform Yourself To Be Better At Stuff.' It looked to be quite a large tome, but Harry picked that up too, as well as some Dark Arts books he noticed, and paid the man, after getting looked at rather suspiciously.  
  
On his way out, however, the man said something that disturbed him: 'You might want to try using a stronger charm next time, Mr. Potter!' Harry looked at the man for a second and then just picked up his magical bags (which shrunk any objects put into them, and were always feather-light) and fled from Knockturn Alley. 'So that's why that goblin didn't say anything about those transactions, then!' Harry thought to himself. Sighing with relief, Harry hoped he never had to visit that shop, or that Alley, again.  
  
The next stop was the apothecary, where he asked if he could start a tab for mail order ingredients, as he wasn't sure what he would be needing in the months to come. Harry's final stop was Madame Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. He would need to get some new robes if he was to be changing soon; and he also needed to ask her: if he paid her a fee, whether she could place charms on some muggle clothes so that they would adapt to and grow with him.  
  
'Certainly, sir!' she replied happily. Harry thanked her, and left with his newly-bought robes for the Leaky Cauldron, where he asked Tom the bartender if he could leave his things with him. It took Harry a few moments to persuade him; in fact, he had to take Tom to an empty room and show that it was him before he would agree. Before leaving, Harry looked at the clock. He still had two hours. 'It should be enough time to get what I need and to look around,' Harry thought.  
  
Harry stepped out of the bar into Muggle London, and then took his cap off and resumed his normal form. He hailed down a taxi and got in; unsure where to go, he asked the driver his opinion. He told Harry that he would take him to a great place where you could get anything you needed: a newly opened super-store. On arrival, he paid the driver and got out. He looked up at the massive building in awe. 'It's really amazing what muggles can do,' he thought to himself. He knew that he had only been in the wizarding world for 5 years, but he had started thinking more and more like magic folk.  
  
He entered the store unsure of where to go; this place looked to be more confusing than Hogwarts first was to him! After much walking around, he found the section he was looking for, and spent the next half hour just picking out the clothes that he liked, regardless of whether they fit or not. He would be getting them all resized back at Madame Malkin's anyway. He got all of the clothes he thought he would need, which included: two black t-shirts, 2 black sleeveless shirts, baggy (but nicely-fitting) black jeans, black underwear and socks, some sports trousers, shorts, trainers, shoes, a black jacket, 2 pairs of regular jeans, some shirts he liked the look of, some blue t-shirts, and a few sweatshirts (some with hoods on). He also got an extra pair of everything, but in white; he would experiment in creating his own colours and patterns when he got to Hogwarts. He went to the electronics department next, and picked out a stereo system and some compact discs. He had always wanted his own since he had to listen to Dudley's pop music, or his aunt and uncle's boring 'old classics' as they had called them when Dudley complained about them one time. He randomly picked out some CD's by Metallica, Linkin Park, Evanescence, System of a Down, and Green Day. He had no idea what was good, but he was sure by the covers that they would be better than the Dursleys' idea of pop music or 'old classics.' The last thing he bought, a little hesitantly, was a laptop computer; along with everything else, that nearly used up all his cash. He was unsure about buying it because he wasn't exactly a computer wiz, and wasn't sure if he would be able to charm it to work at Hogwarts – but if he could, then it would be worth it.  
  
Harry made his way back to the Leaky Cauldron to pick up his things and get his new clothes charmed by Madame Malkin. He only had 5 minutes to spare before he was to meet the Dursleys back at the parking spot, so he had to rush to get the rest of his things.  
  
'Thanks a lot, Tom, I don't know what I would have done if I had to carry all of that stuff, and this lot, all the way back!' Harry said to the barkeeper.  
  
'That's okay; erm...' Tom trailed off, unsure of what to call Harry when he was wearing his cap.  
  
'James' Harry said smiling. Tom smiled back and bid him farewell once Harry had all his things balanced. (His laptop computer and stereo system were too big to fit into the bags.) He left the bar, and just about made it to the car when the Dursleys showed up.  
  
'Well, it seems that they do teach you some things in that... school of yours; you can actually tell the time!' jabbed Harry's uncle, hoping that he would get a reaction out of him just so he could have the pleasure of shouting at him. 'Obviously he has had to buy Dudley, the fat whale, more things,' Harry thought. Hoping to infuriate his uncle more, Harry just smiled at Vernon, and then said a short 'yep.'  
  
'What's that in those boxes?' asked Dudley curiously.  
  
'It better not be anything to do with you-know-what!' his uncle said beginning to turn red as they all got into the car and Harry put his purchases into the boot.  
  
'No it's not, those are in some of the bags...' Harry replied, and then added 'which you said I should use to cover anything up!' with a grin, but making sure no one saw it. When he got into the car Dudley again asked what was in the boxes. Harry didn't know what to answer. He wasn't sure how they would all react – well, his uncle, mainly – to finding out that Harry had a whole lot of money now, and he hadn't shared it with them. Deciding there was no way around it after much thought and a little whining from Dudley to his parents to get the 'freak' to tell him what it was, Harry gave in and just told them.  
  
'The big box has a stereo system in it, and the little one a laptop computer.' Harry said in an almost bored tone. The information didn't seem to sink in at first, but when it did he got the reaction that he was expecting.  
  
'Where did you get the money to pay for those?' his aunt asked eyeing him suspiciously in the rear-view mirror.  
  
'You stole the money from us, didn't you, boy?' his uncle bellowed. Harry could see the red spreading around his uncle's tight shirt collar.  
  
'Of course I didn't; don't you think you would have noticed that much money going missing if I had? Laptops and stereo systems aren't cheap, you know!' Harry replied back, using one of the Dursleys' favourite sayings when lecturing Harry on his 'ungratefulness,' and talking as if his relatives were stupid. 'Which they are,' Harry thought to himself.  
  
'Well how did you pay for them?' his aunt prodded.  
  
'You didn't use you-know-what to steal them, did you?' his uncle asked in a dangerously low voice as if expecting someone in a car from the other side of the road to hear.  
  
'No!' Harry shouted exasperatedly. 'I paid cash for them! I got the money from an inheritance, but it's all gone now, I just used it all up,' Harry added the last part quickly, as it had never occurred to him to use that lie before.  
  
'Humph!' was all the answer he got from his aunt. But again, as expected, his uncle was a different matter.  
  
'And you never thought to give it to us, after all we have done for you! You don't think you owe us?' he asked what Harry assumed was meant to be a rhetorical question, but he answered none the less.  
  
'No way! I have paid you! Every time I clean up after you, or cook for you, I pay you. I have practically been your slave since you took me in. I think that is ample payment!' Harry said, raising his voice just a little as he began to get angry. Luckily his uncle decided to let the matter drop, which Harry was glad for. Ever since last year his temper had been dangerously close to breaking at all times, but especially now. He still had yet to receive any owls from his friends all summer, which only fuelled his anger.  
  
As soon as Harry got back, he got all his shopping out of the car and went up to his bedroom as fast as possible. Once inside the sanctuary of his room, 'or should I say Dudley's second bedroom,' he thought as he sighed to himself, he emptied his bags on the bed and placed the boxes on the floor. Before he even attempted to sort any of the books out or the music player or laptop, he grabbed all of his old clothes that he had gotten from the Dursleys, and chucked them into the corner of the room. He would put them in the bin when he went downstairs again. 'No need in going down there if I can avoid it,' Harry thought as he undressed himself and picked out some of his new clothes. He put on the black underwear and jeans (which immediately shrunk so they fit, but were still baggy) and a sweater that had a hood on it.  
  
Satisfied for now, he put the rest of the clothes away, and then started arranging the books on his desk, leaving enough room for his laptop computer. He had wanted to get one because he was tired of always making mistakes with parchment and quill and having to start over. Also he wanted to begin typing up notes on spells and other things he was going to learn. He was also thinking of making a database, as he had learned in his last year at Muggle School. He would eventually have a database large enough that he would be able to look up different classifications of magic and spells, find their counter-curses or ways to shield them. This would help to sort them and speed up research. Also the laptop was a lot more secure; there were, after all, very few wizards or witches who would know how to use one – even Harry wasn't too sure. Harry was positive that the use of muggle things would speed things up and make them a whole lot easier.  
  
Once he had placed the laptop, he began unpacking his stereo system. He had been looking forward to this since he had seen it. Once he was at Hogwarts and had charmed the thing, he would be able to make a magical bubble around himself and the stereo so no-one outside it could hear. Thus he could have the music as loud as he wanted. But for now he resigned himself to listening to it on low, so as not to give the Dursleys something more to yell at him about. After all, something was better than nothing.  
  
Once he was done, he stood back and observed his new belongings and said, 'Mum, Dad, Sirius: I'm going to make you all proud of me. I'll put an end to this war, and I'll do it in honour of all of those who fought to do so before me. I will honour your sacrifices, and I will make sure they are not in vain. I swear that I will do all in my power to end all of the suffering.' He walked to his stereo system and picked a random CD and started playing it. The case said that it was Metallica's '...And Justice for All'.  
  
And so began Harry's first month of remaking his life. He would listen to his songs, read up on different things and take notes, and practice what magic he could do without a wand. For instance, to prepare for his animagus training, he would change his hair or fingernails, or practice turning himself invisible wandlessly, from his book on Obscure Transfigurations.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
It was now most of the way through the first month, and Harry had done very well, he thought. He had begun to grasp spell creation; it was very technical. He had also made a large database of Dark-Arts spells that he had been researching, which included effects, counter-curses and shielding techniques; and he had made a separate one for all of the other spells that he knew, and sorted them.  
  
He hadn't really looked too much at the books on how wands work or magical enhancement; they would both have to wait till he was at Hogwarts, where he had access to more equipment like magical cores and other magical items, and could use magic. He had looked up information on elemental abilities – and, as it turned out, very few wizards were able to use them. They had to brew two potions (if they knew how): one that would identify if they had the ability, and then one that would unlock the ability. Fortunately, Harry was able to find out that he was an elemental mage using the first potion.  
  
He turned out to be a fire mage! The book said this was incredibly rare in itself; the only rarer gift was the ability to control any element. Unfortunately, the second potion (to unlock the ability) required magic to be performed on the potion. He also wanted to be in Dumbledore's presence when he did it, in case something went wrong. He still researched and compiled information on the use of elemental magic, so he was still learning a lot. Harry briefly looked over the book on the muggle enchantments to see if there was a way he could substitute muggle electricity with magic. To Harry's relief, there was; so he just marked the page for when he got to Hogwarts.  
  
The book 'So You Want To Transform Yourself To Be Better At Stuff' was very insightful. There were a few transfigurations that he knew Tom Riddle had used on himself, so he researched those to find any weaknesses, and added them to his notes and database. There were also a few transfigurations for 'light wizards' like himself that he could do to himself if he needed to, but he would not mention them to Dumbledore, as the old man would surely try to stop him. (Most of the light-wizard transfigurations were very painful, and often left a mark in the form of a tattoo.)  
  
All in all, his research was going very well. He had a very large and easy-to-use database system, and extensive notes on all of the things he was researching, and on conventional magic. He now had a very good idea of what he wanted to do, what he needed to do and what he could do with magic – and he hadn't even looked at the book about magical history yet. He was sure that would show some ways to improve his use and understanding of it.  
  
Harry had also obtained a few books to learn how to better use his laptop. Learning how to do these things was slow and often frustrating, but once he had learned something he would put it to use straight away. One such thing he had learned was a little bit of database programming and organising, so his magical database was becoming more complex and intricate as it grew. He also learned how to create his own CD's. The first thing he did after he had learnt how to use it (and had a few failed attempts) was to create a CD that had all of his favourite songs on it from some of the other CD's he had got.  
  
His choice of music was perfect; some of these songs suited different aspects of his mood ideally. When he was thinking of Sirius or his parents, if he wasn't reading, he would put on the Evanescence CD, and listen to 'My Immortal.' When he was feeling particularly determined to do something, he would listen to his Linkin Park or System of a Down (only certain songs) CD's. And when he was angry, he would listen to Metallica or System of a Down (again, only certain songs). And he was angry quite often lately, as he had hardly heard from his friends. When he had sent them a letter, the reply he had got was 'Harry, things are fine here, we're all doing fine; hope all is well, Ron & Hermione' which angered him beyond belief! Now was the time when he needed his friends, and they were practically ignoring him!  
  
With the notes that he had obtained from Sirius' private vault about the animagus transformation, he was able to brew a potion that would show the potion brewer their form, so they could research it. It had taken all this time to collect the correct ingredients and to brew the potion: Harry had made a mistake the first time, which luckily only rendered the potion ineffective, so he didn't explode the cauldron or create a mess. Today, at last, the potion was ready. First he wrote his normal letter to the Order, telling them he was fine, and that the Dursleys were treating him okay and feeding him well. Once he had written the note and sent it off with Hedwig and stood watching her fly away, he had a funny feeling in his stomach – but shook it off, and moved to the beaker which contained the potion.  
  
'Bottoms up!' he said as he knocked it all back in one go, so as not gag at the taste. Which, as it turned out, wasn't all that bad, considering some of the things that went into it – mainly animal parts and entrails. He could feel the effect almost straight away, so he did what the book told him to do next and pricked himself with a safety pin, and let some blood drip into the second part of the potion. Once it did, he looked into the cauldron to see what would happen. The green gunk-like potion started to give off a mist, and soon looked like the substance that was in Dumbledore's pensieve when Harry saw it in his fourth year. After about a minute Harry began to get disheartened by the lack of any result; but no sooner had he started to feel down, the potion began to clear. It took a few moments for the shape to become definable, but when it did, it took Harry's breath away. Of all of the possible forms, he hadn't expected this one. Harry's was a huge, golden, proud lion! His form was his house's emblem. Harry couldn't have been more proud if it was a stag, like his father. That night Harry went to sleep with a smile on his face. But the smile was not to last, as the morning brought with it some bad news: there was a death.

**A/N: Thank you all for reading, and thank you to my fantastic and very efficient beta reader david305. **


	3. Best Friends? and the Order

Harry Potter and the Rising War  
  
***  
  
Chapter 3: Best Friends? And the Order  
  
The day started out like all the others for Harry. He got up early, had a wash, and got something to eat; then continued the previous night's research, before he had found out his animagus form. Harry was just getting deeper into the next chapter on spell creation when there was a tapping at his window. Looking up, he expected to see Hedwig, back from delivering his letter to the Order; but he was surprised to see the Order's own owl instead. Furrowing his brow in confusion, he opened the window for the owl and let it in, allowing it to get some water and have a rest while he read over the letter that looked to be in Remus' handwriting.  
  
Dear Harry,  
I am very sorry to inform you, but when I woke up this morning I found Hedwig very badly injured on the floor in the kitchen, and there was nothing that I could do for her in time. It seems some Death Eaters tried to intercept her after recognising her as your owl. She got away, but I'm afraid she died shortly after I found her. I know how much she meant to you, and if there is anything that I can do, please don't hesitate to ask.  
As for our request that you keep up the letter updates: don't worry about it until you get to headquarters next week. Hopefully something will be sorted out. I'm very sorry, Harry.  
  
Your friend,  
  
Moony  
  
Harry sat and stared at the letter in shock for a few moments. He didn't know what to think. Hedwig wasn't just a pet or a messenger owl for him; she was his friend - his only companion while he was at the Dursleys'. He blinked back the tears that were threatening to overflow. He felt like another death was on his hands; and yet she had stayed faithful to him until the end. She delivered the letter she was meant to because she loved Harry as much as he did her. Harry sat and mourned another friend - even if she was just an owl.  
  
In the week that followed, Harry had more reason and determination to learn and train all he could. He got a book on lions, and began learning everything he could about them. He was also reading so much about spell creation and alteration that he was really learning and understanding the theory. He often worked through the night, trying to avoid horrible dreams - plagued by nightmares occasionally, but more often plagued by images that Voldemort was projecting into them.  
  
Finally, the day came when he was to return to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, and attend his first meeting. He didn't know what to expect, as so much was to happen in such a short time. One thing he had his mind set on was confronting Ron and Hermione about the lack of informative letters.  
  
At 3 pm sharp, there was a knock on the front door. Harry had been sitting on the bottom step. He jumped up when he heard the knock, and picked up his bag, which just contained a few books and clothes for his short stay at Headquarters. When he opened the door, he was glad to see that Remus was looking well. (From the few letters they had exchanged, Harry could tell that Remus hadn't taken Sirius' death well at all; but with each other's help, they had both begun to accept it, and get on with life. They agreed that they would best honour Sirius by celebrating his life.)  
  
'Good afternoon, Harry! I'm glad to see you looking well,' Remus said as Harry opened the door.  
  
'Moony! It's so good to see you. You're looking well too,' Harry replied. Remus smiled at Harry and thanked him before leading him to a car he had parked in the driveway.  
  
'Looking forward to your first Order meeting?' Remus asked, as they began driving to Headquarters.  
  
'Yeah! I can't believe that they have finally let me in. I bet Mrs. Weasley tried her best to stop it happening, though,' Harry said.  
  
Remus laughed before he replied. 'Well, if there is one word to describe Molly Weasley, it's determined! She argued with Dumbledore for hours. It finally took him telling everyone the prophecy to convince her to accept you into the order - and Snape too, for that matter,' he added with a smile. The mention of the potions master's name brought a scowl to Harry's face. Seeing this, Remus decided it would be best to change the subject; so he picked the only other thing he could think of.  
  
'Excited about tomorrow night?' he asked. This seemed to have the desired effect as they spent the rest of the drive talking happily about what was to come. He was looking forward to everything, except for the initial pain of the transformation. They finally reached their destination at 5:25, which Harry was very glad of. Sitting down for so long had begun to make him ache. (Quite often when he was reading a book at the Dursleys', he would have to get up and pace for a few minutes when he would begin to ache.)  
  
Once he was out of the car, he stretched very thoroughly, and then headed toward the lot where Headquarters should stand. As he approached, he thought of the address, '12 Grimmauld Place'; and then a moment later it appeared before him. He and Remus walked to the door, and Remus rang the bell. A second later, yelling and screaming could be heard. 'So the portrait of Sirius' mother is still there, then,' Harry thought. He was now dreading being in the house that he had spent Christmas in with Sirius; there would be so many difficult memories. And if the portrait was still up, he thought, then not much else had probably changed. But Harry couldn't have been more wrong.  
  
Mrs. Weasley opened the door, and gave Harry a bone-crushing hug; then she checked to see if he had been eating properly, commenting how he still looked so small and frail (which Harry thought was because Dumbledore hadn't told everyone yet what was about to happen). Then he realised that the place looked the complete opposite of his last stay. Instead of all the horrible dark gloomy colours, the walls and carpets were now all in reds and golds. Wherever possible, the fixtures and other decorations were shaped like a phoenix; and apart from the one picture of Sirius' mother, all the others were very much like the ones at Hogwarts. Harry guessed that these were enchanted in the same way as the portrait of Phineas Nigellus (in which he could appear either in the frame at the headmaster's office or the one in the room that Harry had shared with Ron last year).  
  
'Harry dear, would take your things upstairs to the same room that you used last year, please?' Mrs. Weasley asked. 'I think Ron, Hermione and Ginny are there.' Harry nodded and went upstairs while the adults tried to silence the portrait. The new phoenix theme continued all the way up the staircase, and the entire second floor was redecorated too. When he reached the door to the bedroom, he was assaulted with a flash of memories just before his hand touched the doorknob. He recalled Sirius singing Christmas carols loudly throughout the house, feeding Buckbeak, and sitting at the table where they all awaited news about Mr. Weasley. Shaking his head, Harry reached the rest of the way and opened the door. The room he stepped into didn't have all of the phoenix patterns or fixtures, but rather Gryffindor ones, which put a smile on his face.  
  
'Harry! When did you get here?' asked an excited Ginny, who was clearly happy to see him. But he noticed that Hermione's smile looked a little forced, and Ron didn't bother to smile at all. Ron hadn't grown much; maybe he had finally reached his adult height. But he had finally filled in and looked less lanky. Hermione hadn't made any noticeable changes, but Ginny had. She had grown an inch or two, and had let her hair grow longer. Harry noticed with a blush that she had started to show some grown-up curves too.  
  
'I arrived just now, didn't you hear the portrait screaming?' Harry replied, deciding to question the other two about their lack of letters when he got the chance to be alone with them.  
  
'Nah, Mum places a silencing charm in here in the daytime now, with so much going on,' Ginny replied when no one else would. 'I swear, it's been such a madhouse here, people coming and going. And there have been a lot of new members. Fred and George included!' Harry began wondering if he had done something wrong to upset Ron and Hermione.  
  
'That's great; its good so many new people are joining,' Harry said, then turned to Hermione.  
  
'Hey Hermione, how has your summer been so far? You too, Ron?' Harry asked, deciding to play dumb for now, and carry on as if everything was normal between them.  
  
'It's been okay; we just finished cleaning the house, so there's not a lot we can do at the moment,' Hermione said.  
  
'Listen, guys, I have something that I want to tell you that is important; but please, don't freak out on me or anything, okay?' Harry asked, when it was obvious Ron wasn't going to contribute to the conversation.  
  
'What is...' Hermione began, but she was cut off by Mrs. Weasley sticking her head in through the half open door.  
  
'Kids, dinner is ready now,' she said, and then left back down the stairs.  
  
'I'll tell you after dinner, I'm starving!' Harry said, giving in to the protests of his empty stomach.   
  
As soon as they left the room, they were blasted with another round of abuse from the portrait. It seemed to be aimed at Remus, Harry thought, as she mentioned 'Dirty Werewolf' in her tirade. At the bottom of the stairs, Remus was trying to shut her up. Harry asked Remus why he didn't just take her down. 'She has a permanent sticking charm on her, Harry, you know that,' Remus replied, trying to be heard over the portrait's bellowing.  
  
'So why not just remove the layer of plaster underneath her, then?' Harry shouted over her screaming. But as soon as he said that, there was absolute silence. Remus got an evil look on his face, and the portrait started begging him not to do it. But it was no use; in no time Remus had recited an incantation, and the picture was off the wall - leaving behind a hole in the plaster, which Remus quickly fixed.  
  
'That was a brilliant idea, Harry! I'm surprised that Hermione hadn't thought of it yet,' Remus said as he picked the portrait up. Hermione blushed at this comment and looked at the floor, obviously ashamed that she hadn't. As Harry grinned at Remus, he could have sworn that he heard Ron mutter, 'Perfect Potter saves the day again' under his breath, as he budged past Harry into the kitchen. He gave Hermione a questioning look at Ron's behaviour, but she just walked into the kitchen too.  
  
'Have I done something wrong?' Harry asked Ginny as they headed to the kitchen.  
  
'I'll explain later' was her only reply, not because she was annoyed with him too but because they had arrived at the table. Dinner that night was excellent; Harry helped himself to two extra helpings before he was satisfied. There wasn't much conversation; it was mainly Mrs. Weasley and Remus who tried to keep it going, ranging from inquiries about O.W.L.s to chatting about Quidditch.  
  
When every one had finished and begun excusing themselves, Remus asked Harry if he could have a quick word with him alone. So once they had cleared the table, they went into the lounge room and sat. Before he spoke, Remus conjured up some tea for them both, including mint tea for Harry, which was his favourite.  
  
'So, what is it that you wanted to speak to me about, Remus?' Harry asked after they both took a sip of their tea.  
  
'It's about your transformation. I forgot to mention it earlier, but no one is to know - except your close friends, of course. The fewer people that know, the less danger you are in,' Remus said.  
  
'But won't they all notice the morning after, when I come down looking totally different from the night before?' Harry asked.  
  
'No one will be around to notice when you come down; you will have to leave early. We'll use the excuse that Moody insisted that you depart at the crack of dawn, as it's safer,' Remus replied.  
  
'Sounds good to me. I guess, when we get back to Hogwarts, we will explain the change in me then as a normal growth spurt?' questioned Harry, making sure he got all of the details so he didn't screw things up.  
  
'Yeah, that's it. Now, have you told your friends yet? How did they take it?' Remus asked, eager to find out if things were okay with Harry; he had noticed the odd way Ron and Hermione were acting with him earlier.  
  
'No, I haven't; and the way they are acting now, I don't think I will at all!' Harry answered with a frown. 'Do you know what's wrong with them?'  
  
Remus thought for a moment; but the only thing that came to mind was a news report that had been in the Prophet at the beginning of summer. But he assumed Harry knew about that anyway, and didn't think that Ron or Hermione would be so petty as to get upset over an article.  
  
'Can't say that I do; sorry, Harry. But I'm sure you'll work things out,' Remus said.  
  
'Thanks, Remus. Hey, what time is the meeting?' Harry asked.  
  
Remus looked at his watch. 'Half an hour, so you had better go get yourself cleaned up.'  
  
'Yes, Dad!' Harry replied sarcastically, gaining a little laugh from Remus. He got up and then left the room, heading to his and Ron's to get changed, and break the news of the Order to them.  
  
'This is it,' he thought as he opened the door. 'It won't be easy... my gods, they're going to hate me!'  
  
'So, Harry - what is it you wanted to tell us?' Hermione asked as soon as he entered.  
  
'Well - erm - you see, it was Dumbledore's idea, and you know how much I wanted it, and besides, I couldn't very well turn him down now, could I?' Harry rambled.  
  
'Harry, what the hell are you talking about?' Ron asked - the first thing he had said since Harry had got there.  
  
'DumbledoresaidIcouldjointheorderofthephoenix' Harry said quickly, hoping to get the next part over with quickly and painlessly.  
  
'HE WHAT!' Hermione shouted, which made Harry cringe; but Ron continued on as if he hadn't heard her. He looked like he had been smacked in the face when Harry had first said it, but now he just looked angry, and it looked to him like Hermione was starting to as well.  
  
'That's not fair! Why should you get special treatment just because you're the bloody Boy-Who-Lived?' Ron shouted. Harry, in hopes of defusing the situation, was about to say that if he was to kill Tom Riddle, it only made sense to have him join.  
  
'You're always getting what you want! Always the hero. I bet all you had to do was just ask Dumbledore, and he said yes straight away! He's probably just scared that you will lead someone to their death if you don't get the information that you want!' he said in a cold hissing sort of tone.  
  
Up till that remark, Harry could have forgiven them for their outburst. It still hurt that they would be angry at him, but he would have got over it in time. But what Ron said had hurt far beyond apologies, and it angered him beyond belief. He had to try hard not to do accidental magic; and the only way he could think of to do that was to let off some steam - so with that thought, he balled his hand into a fist and hit Ron in the face. Ron was so much bigger and more muscular than Harry, that the punch had little effect on Ron. But Harry was really only trying to affect himself, and prevent a much bigger explosion. Ron looked at Harry for a second, dumbfounded; and then when he realized that that was the best Harry could do, he laughed at him and said, 'What's the matter, Potter? Am I too big and strong for your infant body to hurt?' When Ron had finished his little jibe at Harry, Hermione stepped in too.  
  
'What do you think you're doing, Harry!' she bellowed. 'There was no need to hit him. After all, most everything he said was the truth! You DO get what you want because you're the Boy-Who-Lived!' she said. These words, along with Ron's, were like a massive and nasty blow to Harry. And it was the last straw, before, he felt, he would explode. But Ginny, who had been silent through the exchange, hadn't had her say yet, and it appeared she was just about to now.  
  
'I can't believe the way you're acting!' she shouted. At first Harry thought it was at him, but then he noticed she was glaring at Ron and Hermione. 'I am disgusted with both of you!' she said, very much in the same tone that Mrs. Weasley used when she was shouting at the twins for a prank they had pulled.  
  
'We should have known you would have taken his side of things!' Ron said, glaring right back at his little sister. 'I suppose once you have fallen under the spell of the great Harry Potter, then you're always under it,' he said venomously.  
  
'You still like him, don't you? I wonder what Dean would have to say about this? Isn't Dean enough for you?' Hermione said, trying to defend Ron and give Ginny something to be angry at. And angry she was; so angry, in fact, that what she did next amazed Harry. She walked up to Hermione and punched her, breaking her nose. 'Wow! I heard Ginny had a temper, but I didn't know it was that bad!' Harry thought to himself. Hermione looked in shock at what had just happened, clearly not registering it yet. A few moments later, the shock of it all left her and she began to cry as she got up and ran from the room, with Ron running right after her. Despite all that had just gone on, Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for her; after all, she had been his best friend for 5 years, and one of his first friends at that.  
  
'You okay, Gin?' Harry asked her, a little hesitantly, as she still looked like she was ready to kill; but hearing his voice, she visibly calmed down and sat on Ron's bed.  
  
'I'm fine; but what about you? What they said was way out of line. No one thinks that you led Sirius to his death,' she said, looking at him with sadness in her eyes. He was grateful for that look, because a look of pity would only anger him again.  
  
'I do, though,' Harry replied.  
  
'Harry - ' Ginny began, but Harry interrupted her.  
  
'Don't waste your breath, Gin; even Sirius himself couldn't convince me otherwise.' He looked away then, so he didn't see the confused look on her face.  
  
'What do you mean, Harry?' Ginny asked.  
  
'He wrote me a letter along with his will. It helped me a lot to accept that he's gone, and start the healing process; but I will never stop blaming myself,' Harry said, running his hand through his hair.  
  
'But that's no way to live, blaming yourself for something that was totally outside your control,' she said in a soothing voice.  
  
'Oh, don't worry; I'm not selfish enough to take all of the blame. There is plenty to go around - especially to Snape,' Harry said, and growled angrily when he mentioned Snape. She got up then when she saw the look on his face, and sat next to him and hugged him, rubbing his back.  
  
'Thanks, Gin, for being here for me when my two best friends abandoned me,' Harry said.  
  
'Any time; and if you ever need to talk then I'll always be here for you,' she replied.  
  
Harry, feeling better now, couldn't resist the little joke; he assumed he got this from the marauder in him. 'Well, I certainly hope not!' he said in a stern voice; and then when he saw her disappointed look, he added, 'Where will I go to get changed or sleep if you're always here?'  
  
'You're such an idiot!' she said in mock anger, whilst playfully slapping him on the arm. 'What time is your meeting, by the way?' she asked.  
  
Harry looked at his watch and then cursed, 'Gin, would you mind leaving so I can get changed?' Harry asked her. He only had five minutes before the meeting was due to start.  
  
'Sure; but remember, I'm there for you,' she said, making sure not to fall into the same trap twice. Harry chuckled and bade her a good night.  
  
'Just in the nick of time there, Harry,' Remus commented, as Harry came bounding into the meeting room. Harry smiled at him as he took his place in between Remus and a wizard Harry didn't know. Just then Dumbledore entered the room, and immediately all conversations were stopped and Dumbledore had the attention of everyone in the room.  
  
'Good evening, everyone; it's good to see you all looking so well,' Dumbledore began. 'Now, before we get started, I would like for us to welcome Mr. Harry Potter into the Order of the Phoenix,' he said, whilst beaming at Harry. He got applauded by most people in the Order - all, in fact, except for Snape, who just glared at Harry.  
  
'Now, Harry, if you would please step up to the front, we will perform the necessary checks to make sure that you are not under the Polyjuice potion, Imperius curse, or any other form of control. Then we will need to have you recite the oath that all who join must read under Veritaserum,' Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes. Harry got back up from his seat, and then walked to the front of the room. He felt very nervous, having all eyes in the room on him, and also being the youngest member in the Order.  
  
'What do you need me to do, professor?' Harry asked as he reached the front and stood before the old headmaster.  
  
'Drink this potion, if you will,' he replied.  
  
'What does it do?' Harry asked, eyeing the potion suspiciously.  
  
'It will reveal to us if you are under the influence of any outside force, or in disguise,' Dumbledore said as he handed Harry a golden goblet, with phoenixes carved all around it. Harry took one last look around the room, and then downed the vile-tasting potion, and waited for any indication that he should do something else. A few moments passed and nothing happened, and it seemed the whole Order as one breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
'Excellent, Harry; now that we have the unpleasantries over and done with, we can move on to the oath,' Dumbledore said with a reassuring smile. He placed the goblet down and then picked up a small vial of clear liquid that Harry knew to be the truth serum. 'Stick out your tongue for me, please, and I will administer three drops,' Dumbledore said in an official tone. Harry did as he was asked. Once the administration of the Veritaserum was over (which left Harry feeling like he had cotton wool in his head, though also very relaxed), and they were all sure it had taken effect, Dumbledore began talking again.  
  
'Harry James Potter, do you swear to do everything within your power to protect the innocent?' Dumbledore asked.  
  
'I do,' Harry said.  
  
'And do you swear to do anything within your power to help bring down those who threaten the side of light and goodness?' Dumbledore asked.  
  
'I do,' Harry said again.  
  
'And will you swear to keep all of what you may learn about the Order to yourself, unless otherwise instructed to do so?' said Dumbledore.  
  
'I will,' Harry answered.  
  
'And finally, do you swear your allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix, to uphold the laws of the Order, and to do anything within your power to keep its members and any of their allies safe from any harm?' Dumbledore asked him.  
  
'Yes, I swear my allegiance to you and the Order; I will uphold and abide by the laws of the Order, and do anything within my power to keep its members safe from any harm,' Harry replied. Just then there was a blast of light, and Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, appeared and landed on Harry's shoulder.  
  
'Harry James Potter, you have been accepted into the Order of the Phoenix; and may I be the first to congratulate you?' Dumbledore said, with a grandfatherly smile. Harry smiled back, and was about to answer when another voice spoke:  
  
'Potter, do you know of anybody who has broken into my private potions storage, in all your time at Hogwarts?' Snape asked with a malicious smile on his face. Harry swore inwardly; 'That slimy git has been just waiting for a chance like this, and there is nothing that I can do to stop myself from answering,' he thought grimly to himself.  
  
'Yes, Hermione Granger did, to make a Polyjuice potion in my second year, while Ron and I distracted the class,' Harry answered, unfortunately for him, honestly.  
  
'Well, well, well. It seems I was right after all. Though I cannot do anything about it now, you will pay when we get back to school,' he replied, sneering at him.  
  
'Severus, that is quite enough!' Dumbledore said with a slight bit of amusement in his voice. Snape just glared once more at Harry and then turned away.  
  
'Take this, Harry; it will nullify the potion. We can't have you walking around telling all of your secrets, now, can we?' he asked with a smile. Harry gladly took the potion and then asked if he could sit down. After receiving a nod from the headmaster, he returned to his seat and received a pat on the back from Remus. Harry sat there and glared at Snape for the rest of the meeting, which from there on was mainly about issues concerning the ministry.  
  
Now that they had admitted that Riddle was back, they were overwhelmed with things to do; and the minister was only making things worse for the Order. To the public, he tried to look like he was doing everything in his power to fight the war; but to the Order, he was doing everything in his power to keep the Order from gaining any sort of power, and from looking good in front of the public. He had invoked several silly ministry decrees, that only worked to hinder the Order as well as the Death Eaters. When it came time for Snape to make his weekly update, he didn't really have much to tell.  
  
'The Dark Lord seems to be at a loss at the moment. He lost a lot of his most trusted and loyal men at the ministry, including Malfoy; which means that he has lost the use of some residences that they owned, and also all of the dark objects and books that were in them, as the ministry are watching the rest of the families closely. Other than that, he has not revealed any of his plans. However, there is a rumour going around that he has begun learning necromancy, the darkest of arts; and that soon he will have the knowledge and power to raise whole armies of the dead,' Snape said. The rest of the meeting after that was brief, and nothing more important was said.  
  
'Well, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for coming here, and I bid you all a safe trip home,' Dumbledore said to call the meeting to an end. When the room was nearly empty, Harry approached Dumbledore, who was just finishing up a short conversation with Arthur Weasley.  
  
'Harry! Good to see you; congratulations on entering the Order,' Arthur Weasley said, as he gave Harry an unexpected hug. Harry wasn't sure what to do, so he just patted Arthur on the back before breaking the hug.  
  
'Thank you, sir, it's a great honour to finally be accepted into it,' Harry replied. Dumbledore smiled at that comment.  
  
'Well, I shall see you next meeting, Albus; please take care. Goodbye, Harry,' Arthur said. Harry bid him goodbye, and Arthur tossed a bit of floo powder in the fireplace, stepped in, and yelled 'THE BURROW' and in a flash of green flames was gone; though Mrs. Weasley was remaining at Grimmauld Place to supervise the kids.  
  
'Now, Harry: is there something that you wanted to ask me?' Dumbledore said.  
  
'Yes sir, but first I want to tell you how my research and learning is going.' Harry replied.  
  
'Indeed?' Dumbledore said, prompting Harry to go on.  
  
'Well, sir, I went to a bookstore in Knockturn Alley that didn't have a name on the outside, and found several useful books - as well as dark arts ones, to help me have a better understanding of what I'm fighting against,' Harry said, eyeing the headmaster for any signs of disapproval. Seeing none, Harry continued. 'For the past month, I have been learning spell creation and adaptation, which I think I'm finally getting the hang of. The theory seemed complicated at first, but I looked at it from a functional viewpoint, separating the bits and pieces that are used for different functions within the spell itself, and it became easier to understand. I also got a book on Obscure Transfigurations, and have been practicing turning myself invisible without a wand,' Harry said, happy that he was finally able to discuss all that he had been learning with someone.  
  
'Can you show me what you can do so far?' Dumbledore asked him.  
  
'Yes sir, but it takes a few minutes for me to build up enough magic to do it,' Harry replied, and then began to concentrate. He cleared his mind after a few minutes, and then began trying to push his magic to the outside and form it around himself so he could look invisible. This alone took 5 minutes to do, and when he was done he was sweating a lot and out of breath.  
  
'Very well done, Harry, very well done indeed; a few more weeks of training and you will be able to vanish your clothes as well, and do it almost without thinking,' Dumbledore told him, beaming at him. 'The boy really is eager to learn; very impressive indeed!' Dumbledore thought to himself as he watched Harry become visible again.  
  
'Thank you, professor; do you really think I'll be able to finish it in a few weeks? That's better than I thought!' Harry said all in one breath, getting excited now.  
  
'Calm down, Harry!' Dumbledore chuckled. 'I think that if you put enough time and practice into it, you should have it done a week or so before you leave for Hogwarts. Now, what about the animagus transformation?' Dumbledore said.  
  
Harry was grinning the whole way through his explanation of how it was going, and Dumbledore seemed impressed too.  
  
'Now that is an excellent form, Harry; there hasn't been a lion animagus since the great Gryffindor himself!' Dumbledore said, which only made Harry the more ecstatic with his form.  
  
'Are there any other surprises you have for me, Harry?' Dumbledore asked after Harry had finished describing his animagus progress.  
  
'Well, sir, I would like to ask you a favour - but please know that, whatever your answer, I will go ahead with what I intend to do,' Harry told him sternly. Dumbledore seemed to become more serious at the way Harry said that. He knew that whatever Harry was planning was probably very painful and dangerous; but there was no stopping the boy once he had his mind set on something, so he nodded his head for Harry to continue.  
  
'Well, another book I found was one on elemental powers; and I performed the compatibility test using a potion on myself - and it turns out I'm a fire mage! The favour I ask is that, when I take the second potion, you be there to supervise, and make sure everything goes as it should,' Harry said in a determined voice. He wasn't going to let Dumbledore talk him out of this; this was something that could decide whether he lived or died.  
  
'Now, out of everything I was expecting to hear, this certainly was not it. I must say I am very pleased that you have the gift, and I will do as you ask; but I must ask that you allow the potions master to make up the potion. It is very advanced, and if something were to go wrong, it does not bear thinking about,' Dumbledore said in his normal tone. From the headmaster's face and voice, Harry wouldn't have guessed that Dumbledore was shocked by what he told him. It sounded and looked like they were discussing the weather over tea to Harry.  
  
'Thank you, Professor. I'm afraid that's all of the shocking revelations I have for you at the moment,' Harry said with a smile.  
  
'That's a good thing; any more and I'm afraid I might have had heart failure,' Dumbledore replied, returning the smile.  
  
'Well, Harry, I must leave now; no rest for the wicked, as they say. I shall see you tomorrow before it begins. Keep up the good work, and good night,' Dumbledore said as he headed to the fireplace as Harry bade him a good night.  
  
Once Dumbledore was gone, Harry began to look for Remus, so he could find out what room they had planned for him to use tomorrow night. He found Moony sitting in front of the fire in the lounge, just staring at the fire in thought.  
  
'You miss him a lot, don't you?' Harry asked Moony, as he sat down on the chair next to his.  
  
'Yeah, he was like a brother to me. It was hard losing him all over again,' Remus said.  
  
'I miss him too. I miss them all, and I hope one day I will get to see them again,' Harry said, gazing into the fire.  
  
'Just make sure you don't rush to get there,' Remus said with a chuckle.   
  
Harry smiled at him and then asked, 'Remus, I was wondering ... if ... er ... if you would be my ... sort of ... replacement godfather?' The question seemed to have caught Remus off guard. He sat there with his jaw hanging open and just stared at Harry; then, without warning, he engulfed him into a tight hug. Harry just barely choked out, 'I'll take that as a yes, then!'  
  
They spent a few hours after that just talking about the marauders and Harry's mother, and having a laugh about some of the antics they got up to. Harry still wasn't sure about his father; but Remus assured Harry that Snape had only got what he deserved - which Harry didn't doubt for a second; and that his father had changed a lot in their seventh year.  
  
Before heading off to bed, Harry asked Remus the question he had originally sought him out to ask.  
  
'Why do you want to know?' Remus asked, already knowing the answer.  
  
'Well, Ron and I had a slight disagreement,' Harry said; and then added in his head, 'with my fist'. Thinking about what Ron had said still angered Harry, but he didn't want to show it.  
  
'I thought as much; well, if you go and grab your things, then I'll show you where it is.'  
  
Harry thanked Remus, headed upstairs to grab his stuff, and then followed Remus to his room, which turned out to be the one opposite Sirius' old room.  
  
'Thank you, Moony,' Harry said as he opened the door.  
  
'Good night, Harry,' He replied.  
  
'Good night.'  
  
***********************************************  
  
A/N: Thanks to all you guys who have reviewed, and for being my first reviewers. As you can probably tell, I'm new to all of this; so if you spot a mistake, let me know and I'll do my best to fix the problem. As always thank you to david305 for expertidly beta-ing my fic!   
MaidenMasherV: Thank you for your review, and thank you for being my first reviewer. Your review pushed me to get this chappie out so fast; but I don't know when the next will be posted; I haven't even started it yet. Hope the rest of the story will be up to scratch for you.  
  
Kyntor: Sorry if I didn't make that clear, but the opening para is Harry after his transformation, and the rest is when he gets back from the station. I suck at writing beginnings of stories, and that's what I came up with after a few days thought and many re-writes. If you can think of a way to change it to make it more clear, please let me know. Thanks for the review and I hope you keep reviewing.  
  
BferBear: Well, did it turn out how you thought? There is a reason why Ron and Hermione are acting so OOC towards Harry, and you will find out in later chapters. Don't want to say too much and give it away, but what I will say is that it won't be an 'I now hate my best friends forever and am chums with my best enemy (Malfoy) cause he's not such a bad guy after all' type fic. :D Thank you for your review. It was very motivating in writing this chappie.  
  
Next chapter: O.W.L.s and Transformations.  
  
Until next time.  
GG


	4. OWL’s and Transformations

Harry Potter and the Rising War  
  
***  
  
Chapter 4: OWL's and Transformations  
  
Once he had got himself settled in his new room at Grimmauld place, Harry closed his eyes for a much needed sleep. But he didn't sleep for very long. Unfortunately his mind was once again assaulted with images of Cedric, Sirius, his parents, and countless other nameless people that had died unnecessarily. Within a few hours, Harry was awake again, and looking for a book to read.  
  
'Bloody Voldemort; can't he just sleep for one night?' Harry grumbled to himself, as he picked up 'Obscure Transfigurations' and began reading it for the rest of the night. There was a section that caught his eye, which he thought could be very useful in a battle situation:  
  
'Wand Transfiguration: This is perhaps the single most difficult transfiguration contained within this book. It takes great control over one's magic, and a very strong will, because the wand is a magical object, which holds its own limited magic within itself. Since the wand is the object most wizards use to draw their magic from their core, most people don't bother to even try this, as it can only work for such people who are able to draw on their magic without a wand. This transfiguration may be very useful in a battle situation where normal magic proves to be useless. To transfigure your wand, you merely channel a large amount of magic through the body to the arm; then you must will the change to occur. Though explained simply, it takes a great deal of magical energy and will power to perform the change, and it is not recommended to try to do it more than twice (change it and then change it back) in 24 hours. The same process is done to change the object back.'  
  
Harry was intrigued, not only by the usefulness of this technique, but also by the process. He had had no idea that wandless magic could be done on purpose; he would have to begin reading his new history of magic book for more information.  
  
When morning came round and Harry was sure everyone else was beginning to get up, he went downstairs and sat at the table next to Ginny, not even bothering to look at Ron and Hermione.  
  
'Morning, Harry, sleep well?' Ginny asked him whilst reaching over for some toast.  
  
'Morning; fine thanks, how about you?' Harry asked. He could have sworn he saw her look at Hermione before she answered.  
  
'Well I slept the best I could, given certain circumstances,' she replied. Before anyone at the table could comment further, an owl flew through the open window and dropped four letters on the middle of the table.  
  
'Are those your O.W.L. scores?' Mrs. Weasley asked.  
  
'Yep, they are!' Ginny replied cheerily, obviously rubbing it in that she had nothing to worry about.  
  
'Well, open them up then; we haven't got all day, you know!' Mrs. Weasley said. Harry grabbed for the pile to get his letter, but was too slow. Ron got to it first and handed Hermione hers, took his, and chucked Harry and Ginny their letters. Luckily for Ron, his mum had turned around to the stove again. Harry glared at Ron for a moment, and then looked down at his letter. He hadn't seen Remus come into the kitchen, so when he slapped a hand down on Harry's shoulder, Harry jumped off his chair and turned around with his wand pointed at Remus, who now had his hands raised in defense.  
  
'Calm down, Harry! You don't need to be so jumpy here, you know,' Remus said.  
  
'Sorry, Moony; reflexes, you know?' Harry replied with a sheepish smile.  
  
'That's fine; just make sure that you stay that sharp when the time actually comes to use them,' Remus said with a laugh as he sat down at the table. 'Is that your O.W.L. score?' he asked.  
  
'Yeah, I was just about to open it,' Harry replied.  
  
'Well, what are you waiting for?' Remus said. Harry gulped and then picked the letter up and slid his finger inside the envelope to open it. There were a few pieces of parchment in it, so he took them all out and began reading the letter to himself.  
  
Dear Mr Potter,  
Enclosed within, you will find the scores to the O.W.L. (Ordinary Wizarding Levels). The marks you were given for both the practical and theoretical parts of the exams for each subject will determine if you will be able to rejoin that class for N.E.W.T. (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests). Congratulations on your score, and good luck in your future.  
  
Mr Alan McKinnon  
(Head of the Department of Wizard Examinations)  
  
Harry put that parchment to the side, and then picked up the next one, which had the scores on it. Before he had a chance to look, however, he was interrupted by Ron shouting out, 'I've been made Quidditch captain! Woo Hoo!'  
  
'Well, there goes that dream,' Harry thought to himself. He would have been happy for Ron, after he got over his initial jealousy, if Ron were still his friend; but now he wanted nothing more than to see Ron fail terribly. If Harry had looked up when he heard Ron shout his announcement, he would have seen Hermione hug him and then kiss him; but as things were, the less he saw of them the calmer he felt; so he began reading his results.  
  
O.W.L. Results for Mr Harry James Potter.  
  
History of Magic: Written - Poor. Mr Potter displayed a vague understanding of the events of historical turning points, and was unable to correctly name any historical figure. Also, he was unable to finish the exam. Mr Potter will not be accepted into the History of Magic class for his 6th year.  
  
Herbology: Written - Acceptable. Mr Potter showed an understanding of the processes of plant cultivation, at a level which would be expected of someone his age. He was able to correctly name the majority of plants, but was unable to correctly identify their magical properties accurately enough.  
  
Herbology: Practical - Acceptable. Mr Potter was able to handle the plants with care, and could correctly identify each one's needs. However, he found some difficulty in replanting and in collecting items off the plants. Mr. Potter will not be accepted into the Herbology class for his 6th year.  
  
Divination: Written - Poor. Mr Potter was unable to take the subject seriously enough to answer the questions accurately.  
  
Divination: Practical - Terrible. Mr Potter has no seer abilities, and no gift for the subject. Mr Potter will not be accepted into the Divination class for his 6th year.  
  
Astronomy: Practical - Acceptable. Mr Potter was able to identify most of the distinguishing constellations in the night sky, but was unable to finish the exam due to an outside disturbance, which was taken into account when marking his tests. Mr Potter will not be accepted into the Astronomy class for his 6th Year.  
  
'Well that went as I expected, although I thought I would have done a little better with Herbology,' Harry said to Remus as he finished reading the first parchment.  
  
'What did you get so far then?' Remus asked.  
  
'History, poor; but I had the vision then,' Harry said with a shiver down his spine. 'Herbology, average in both practical and written; and poor for written Divination and Terrible for practical; and Average in Astronomy. I haven't been accepted into any classes so far,' Harry said, a little down at the fact that he had done so badly thus far. When he had finished telling Remus his scores so far, Ron snickered at Harry's poor scores.  
  
'Hey mum, I got Exceeds Expectations for both parts of my Herbology, and average in divination and History so far, and Hermione has Outstanding for everything!' Ron said, obviously trying to rub it in that he had done better than Harry.  
  
'Don't let him get to you, Harry; it's the other scores that matter,' Remus said quietly.  
  
'Yeah; thanks, Remus,' Harry said weakly, and looked at his next parchment.  
  
Transfiguration: Written - Outstanding. Mr Potter has shown a very firm understanding of the theory for Transfiguration. He was able to answer the questions accurately and describe the transfiguration in great detail.  
  
Transfiguration: Practical - Exceeds Expectations. Mr Potter has shown he has potential to become skilled in this subject. Whilst performing the transfigurations, he had some trouble with the harder aspects of some spells; however, he has shown he understands the process and the magic required, and that with enough effort he could do great. Mr Potter will be accepted into the Transfiguration class for his 6th year.  
  
Charms: Written - Outstanding. Mr Potter has displayed a level of charms work that is above that of the average student; he has a particular knack for the subject. He can correctly identify the effects of charms, and the wand movements needed to perform them.  
  
Charms: Practical - Outstanding. As stated above, Mr Potter has displayed a superior level of charms work. He has no problem in performing charms, and is able to do so quickly and accurately. Mr Potter will be accepted into the Charms class for his 6th year.  
  
Potions: Written - Outstanding. Mr Potter showed a firm understanding for concepts of potion brewing and the properties of ingredients. He was able to correctly identify various potions only by descriptions given of what they look, smell and feel like.  
  
Potions: Practical - Outstanding. Mr Potter is a very able potions brewer when he has confidence in what he is doing. He was able to brew the correct potion as stated to him; and while there were a few slight differences from the desired outcome, overall the potion was close enough to its desired state. Mr Potter will be accepted into the Potions class for his 6th year.  
  
Defence Against the Dark Arts: Written - Outstanding. Mr Potter has shown that his understanding of the defence against the dark arts is far above average; he was able to answer all of the questions correctly, and could describe in full detail certain situations and how he would react to them. He was able to correctly identify dark creatures and the spells used to repel or defeat them.  
  
Defence Against the Dark Arts: Practical - Outstanding + 1 Extra Credit. Mr Potter has shown exceptional understanding of the subject, and has exceeded the level for that of someone who would be at N.E.W.T. level. He was able to conjure a corporeal Patronus Charm. Mr Potter will be accepted into the Defence Against the Dark Arts class for his 6th year.  
  
Care of Magical Creatures: Written - Exceeds Expectations. Mr Potter shows a good understanding of magical creatures and their magical attributes. He can identify the proper techniques used in calming the animals, and knows their likes and dislikes.  
  
Care of Magical Creatures: Practical - Outstanding. Mr Potter has a way with all creatures, and as a result is able to keep the creature he is handling calm and happy. He has shown that he knows the correct way to handle the animals, and ways to detain them. Mr Potter will be accepted into the Care of Magical Creatures class for his 6th year.  
  
Congratulations, Mr Potter, for achieving 11 O.W.L.s, and being the only student to achieve extra credit in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Below is a list of classes that you are eligible to attend.  
  
Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defence Against The Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures  
  
Additional lessons that are being offered this year include:  
  
Magical Dueling, Spell Modification, Healing  
  
Harry was positively beaming with happiness at the rest of his results. He didn't think he had done too well when he had seen the first parchment, but the rest were better than he had expected. Seeing the look on his face, Remus asked, 'So, how were they? They couldn't have been that bad if you have a silly grin like that on your face!' Harry could have sworn that Remus was just as nervous as he was, if not more so.  
  
'Here, see for yourself!' Harry responded, handing Remus the parchment that bore the rest of his results. He was eager to see what Remus' reaction would be to his Defence Against the Dark Arts score. After all, it was Remus who had taught him most of what he knew, especially the Patronus charm and the dark creatures.  
  
'Harry, these are fantastic scores! You did really well in DADA! A bonus mark! Amazing,' Remus said, gushing with pride at his best friend's son. At hearing the bonus point part, Hermione's head shot up. She looked totally amazed, and not in the friendly 'I'm happy for you' way, either; but luckily she didn't say anything.  
  
'Did you read the last part about the extra lessons?' Harry asked Remus, who had just handed the parchment back.  
  
'Yeah, I did; about that – Dumbledore asked me to pass a message on to you. He said that you would not be taking any of those lessons,' Remus said to him casually, knowing that it wouldn't be a problem for Harry as he was now Dumbledore's apprentice. There was a time when Harry would have become livid at this, but now he didn't care one way or the other.  
  
'That's fine; I wasn't expecting to be able to take part anyway,' Harry responded.  
  
'What's the matter – think you're too good for the lessons? Or is it that you're too afraid?' Ron asked snidely. Luckily, before anyone else had a chance to say anything, Mrs Weasley rounded on her son.  
  
'Ronald Weasley, you apologise this instant! That is no way to talk to a friend!' she shouted at him, easily resembling a lioness, Harry thought.  
  
'I will not!' was all Ron replied, as he got up from the table and walked out of the room, followed by Hermione.  
  
'Harry, I am so sorry about him. I don't know what's wrong with him. It's not like him to be like this,' Mrs Weasley said.  
  
'It's okay, Mrs Weasley, things will work themselves out; I'm sure he will be back to normal when he has time to cool down,' Harry said, using what he thought was a good reassuring tone. He picked up the last piece of parchment that contained the usual start-of-school-term notices, and his train ticket. Also there was a list of all of the books he would need for the next term. The list included all of the lessons offered, which Harry thought was due to the O.W.L. scores. He marked the books he would need, and then thanked Mrs Weasley for the lovely meal, and left the room.  
  
Harry spent the rest of the day sitting in his room practicing the animagus transformation and researching his animal. Sometime in the afternoon, Ginny paid him a little visit to talk about Ron and Hermione. She explained what had instigated their annoyance and resentment: there had been a report in the Daily Prophet about what happened at the ministry, which had made Harry and Dumbledore out to be saviours, but didn't even mention any other names, referring to the rest as 'a few friends of the great Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter.' Harry now understood what was the matter with them; but it didn't mean that he was ready to even think about forgiving them for what they had said and how they had acted towards him. But Ginny had still more to tell him about Ron and Hermione. Harry found it both shocking, and yet oddly, not surprising.  
  
'Since Hermione got here, she and Ron have been ... sort of ... you know, together. I think that's why she stuck up for Ron yesterday. They both know the way they have acted is wrong, but I suppose their jealousy is blinding them,' she said. Harry wasn't totally convinced of this. Something in the back of his mind told him that not all was as it seemed.  
  
The day seemed to go by quickly, 'Too quickly for my liking,' Harry thought to himself. When Dumbledore finally showed up in his room with Remus, it was 10:30. He hadn't known when they were going to come, or even if they were going to stay when he transformed. He hoped not; if this thing was going to be painful, he didn't want to see pity for him on their faces.  
  
'Good evening, Harry; it's good to see you are still studying; but please remember, there is more to life than what is contained within a book,' Dumbledore said to him. Harry thought that Dumbledore had a greater meaning to this, but brushed it aside. He was too nervous to worry about Dumbledore's cryptic hidden messages. Before getting down to the matter at hand, Harry wanted to ask Dumbledore something that he hoped would teach Ron a lesson.  
  
'Professor, would it be okay if I participated in the duelling lessons? It would be great practice, and it would seem suspicious if I didn't attend at least that lesson,' Harry said quickly before he could interrupt. Dumbledore seemed to be thinking it over. Meanwhile, Remus had a look on his face that clearly said, 'I know what you're up to, and I don't like it!' But Harry didn't care.  
  
'After careful thought,' Dumbledore said, 'it seems that you have a very good point. However, you will only attend for the first half of the year. We will work on an excuse to exempt you from the rest of the classes after that, as your level of duelling will far outrank that of your peers.'  
  
'Thank you, Professor; that's all that I ask,' Harry said with a mischievous glint in his eyes that nearly made Dumbledore re-think Harry's motives for asking to attend those lessons.  
  
'Now then, Harry: how are you handling everything so far?' Dumbledore asked him.  
  
Harry thought about it for a few moments and then answered, 'Well, it feels like I have been drinking coffee all night; and my practice for the animagus transformation is coming along very well; as a result, I think I will be able to change my hands soon.'  
  
'Wait a minute, you're becoming an animagus?' Remus asked.  
  
'Oops!' Harry thought, 'forgot to tell Remus; I knew there was something.'  
  
'Yeah, among other things. The headmaster said that I should try learning everything that I can in order to end this war and come out alive. And I wholeheartedly agree with him on this one,' Harry replied with a little laugh, trying and hoping to make it seem less serious than it really was.  
  
'I see,' was all Remus would say; he was amazed that Harry was reading a book of his own free will, let alone in his free time – and, by the look of things, enjoying it.  
  
'Yes, Harry has seen the light, so to speak, in that area. Now then: back to business. Harry, during your transformation tonight, would you like one of us to be here?' Dumbledore asked.  
  
'Well, I appreciate the offer, but no, thank you. I would prefer no one saw me screaming like a baby,' Harry said, in a firm tone that clearly meant 'No, and I mean it!'  
  
'Very well then; we shall be placing some silencing charms around your room, as well as some unbreakable charms. When I went through my transformation, there was a large aura of magic that engulfed me, and it shattered and broke all of the objects in the immediate area,' Dumbledore told him.  
  
'Wow! But I thought magical auras were calm things that shone around a wizard at certain times,' Harry said.  
  
'That is correct; but as there was so much magic, and I was so young, it was uncontrollable. If I were to display it now, it would look very calm,' Dumbledore replied.  
  
'Can I see it now, sir? I've never seen one before,' Harry asked eagerly.  
  
'Certainly, Harry; but you must not try to do it yourself once you get back to the Dursleys'; you could cause a lot of damage,' Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes. Harry didn't know what to expect, but the prospect of seeing Dumbledore's aura excited him. When Dumbledore closed his eyes and began the procedure to show his aura, it looked to Harry like Dumbledore was pushing with all of his might to squeeze the magic out of his core, and stretch it around himself. When it was done, the sight that met him was breathtaking. Dumbledore was surrounded in a perfect sphere of blue light that looked remarkably like the colour of his eyes. The sphere also had 'blobs' of silver flecked randomly over it. Inside of it, Harry could see Dumbledore, who looked perfectly normal except for an invisible breeze that made his beard and hair move gently. Seeing Harry's amazement, Dumbledore asked, 'Is it what you thought it would look like?'  
  
'Not really, sir; I didn't have a clue about what to expect. Does it take a lot of magic to do it, sir?' Harry said, still with a look of awe on his face.  
  
'Not as much as you might think, but still it takes an above-average wizard or witch to show one. It's mainly an effort of will and determination to manifest it,' Dumbledore said, and then he concentrated once again, though this time not as hard, and made the aura disappear. 'Now: on with the charms.'  
  
Whilst Dumbledore was busy placing the unbreakable charms onto the objects within the room (there were a few pictures and a large chandelier for him to do), Harry began chatting with Remus.  
  
'Remus, do you know the time that I was born? It would help a lot if I knew, so that I'm not caught off guard,' Harry asked him. It appeared Remus needed no time to think about it at all.  
  
'1:32 am and 35 seconds, according to James. He made sure we all remembered the exact time. He was so proud, it was almost funny!' Remus said.  
  
'So there's not much time left, then,' Harry stated. It almost felt like he was awaiting his execution. Knowing when it was going to happen didn't really make it easier; that was the one good thing about the cruciatus curse, if you could call anything associated with that horrible curse 'good': you didn't know when or whether your opponent was going to use it. They continued chatting for a few minutes, and when Dumbledore was finished, he and Remus wished Harry good luck and left him for the night.  
  
If Harry thought that the day had passed fast, it was nothing compared to how fast the night passed. In no time at all, Harry's watch was pointing to '1:30.' He set his 'lion book' aside and then stripped down to his underwear, as he didn't know how fast his size would increase, or whether his clothes would grow with him in time. Once Harry was undressed, he glanced at the watch that was now on the bedside table (Dumbledore had placed an unbreakable charm on the watch before he left), and saw that he had only 8 seconds left! Bracing himself, he prayed to whatever god was listening tonight to make it quick. Harry had no such luck, as at exactly 1:32 am and 32 seconds, he was levitated into the air; and then, in one sudden rush, his magic had pushed itself out of its core – some surrounding his body in an aura, some flowing through his blood, bones, skin and even hair.  
  
The sudden attack on all of Harry's nerves was overwhelming, and he nearly lost consciousness right then. It was so painful and shocking that Harry didn't even register what his aura looked like. He was thankful that there were silencing charms and unbreakable charms on the room. He was screaming and shouting in profound pain. The only pain that came close to this was the cruciatus curse, which was something he never wanted to feel again.  
  
He could feel the changes to each area of his body as they happened. There would be a build up of magic in the area, which would feel like it was on fire; and then he would feel the stretching of bones, growing of muscles, disconnection and reconnection of nerves, and even hair pushing its way through his skin. The pain was terrible, but after an hour the pain began to decrease slowly, and when it was all over, Harry wasn't sure that he hadn't died and gone to heaven.  
  
Ginny was enduring another fitful night's sleep, so she did what she usually did when she couldn't sleep: she got up silently from her room, and walked the eerily quiet halls of Grimmauld place towards Sirius' old room to visit Buckbeak. She was rather fond of the Hippogriff, and was sure he enjoyed the company. However, when she reached the hall that Sirius' room was located in, and when she walked towards the door, it felt like she was riding a muggle train through a long tunnel (her father had insisted she try it to experience the sensation). The feeling only lasted a second; it felt like her ears had 'popped' and then 'un-popped.' The sound that reached her ears after they had 'un-popped,' however, was terrible. It sounded like someone was in immense pain.  
  
'That voice; it sounds so familiar ...' she thought to herself, whilst wracking her brain thinking of who owned it. There was a slight break in the screaming; but when it started again, she was able to identify the voice: it was Harry! 'Oh my god, what's happening to him?' she asked herself. Not knowing what to do, she approached his door and knelt down to look through the keyhole. What she saw was the last thing she expected. She had thought that maybe Death Eaters had found Harry and placed a silencing charm around the room whilst they tortured him; but that was furthest from what was actually happening. Harry was floating in mid air, surrounded by an emerald green and silver spherical aura. The two colours were mixing with each other while not actually changing colour. It was beautiful, Ginny had to admit; but she was still worried about what was happening to Harry.  
  
She was just about to go in and see if she could do something to help, when he began to quiet down and start sinking towards his bed. A few moments later, Harry was lying on his bed and the aura was gone; but the Harry that was lying on the bed was not the same one she had seen earlier. He was still identifiably Harry, but with a mature look; his hair was longer, his face more defined, more pointy; he looked bigger and he had bulked up; he no longer looked skinny, but was not yet muscular – sort of in-between. 'What just happened here? A few hours ago, Harry was going about things normally. He looked like all of the other times I've seen him. In fact, he has never really changed, and maybe that's why this happened. But just now he was floating in the air, in obvious pain, with a massive green-silver aura surrounding him; and now that he is in bed, he looks like a normal 16 year old should. What is going on?' Ginny pondered as she walked back towards her room.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
'Ahhhhhhhhhh!!' Harry shouted 'What the bloody hell was that for?' asked a rather angry and slightly soaking wet Harry.  
  
'I've been trying to wake you for ages!' Remus said, but Harry wasn't sure he had even tried once. 'Well, how did it go last night? You've changed a lot!' Remus said.  
  
'It was comparable to the cruciatus curse. I was levitated into the air and then began changing. What do I look like now?' Harry asked.  
  
Remus conjured up a large mirror for Harry to look in. He certainly had changed. Looking back at him was not the scared, shy-looking 11-year-old Harry Potter, but now a tall (roughly 6 ft.), slightly bulky (but not fat at all), 16-year-old, confident, powerful Harry Potter. His eyes twinkled with knowledge and merriment, much like Dumbledore's; but also they held a look of someone who had seen too much in their life. His face was sharper looking, more defined and angular. His hair reached his shoulders (it was almost there when he left the Dursleys'); but the most surprising thing was that his scar also changed to accommodate the difference in Harry's face. It had grown slightly, and also become a little more noticeable in colour.  
  
'Wow!' Harry whispered.  
  
'Exactly! Come on, get dressed and come downstairs. You have presents to open, and breakfast to eat before we leave,' Remus said.   
  
Once showered and dressed (black jeans, white t-shirt with an open black shirt over the top), Harry went downstairs to eat and open his small collection of presents. When he got to the kitchen, however, there was someone sitting at the table that he didn't expect to see. Ginny had got up extra early, considering the late night she had, because she was sure Harry would be leaving before the others were awake, if he had not told anyone of his change.  
  
'Happy Birthday, Harry!' Ginny said when she saw Harry enter the room. He looked to Remus to see why she was sitting at the table with him, but apparently he didn't know either. 'You look a bit different today, have you changed your hair?' she asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes – much like Fred and George, when Harry thought about it.  
  
'I – I – I – ' Harry stuttered, struggling to find something, anything to tell her; but his mind was blank.  
  
'Yes?' she prodded. 'Ah hell, I might as well just tell her, its not as if I was told not to. In fact, I don't know why I didn't in the first place!' Harry thought to himself, and then answered his own question: 'Explaining why I hadn't gone through puberty to Ron's little sister: yeah, sure! We're just getting to be friends!'  
  
Harry sighed, took a seat at the table and filled his plate. As he did so, he began an explanation like the one Dumbledore had given him. When he was finished with her explanation and his breakfast, he asked Ginny what she was doing up so early, and she confessed to him that she had seen the last part of the transformation last night, and was sure he didn't want anyone to see that he looked different overnight.  
  
'So you saw everything, right?' Harry asked her.  
  
'Yeah, why?' Ginny asked, eyeing him suspiciously.  
  
'Well, I was in so much pain that I didn't really register how my aura looked; could you tell me?' Harry asked her.  
  
'Why don't you just show it instead?' she asked.  
  
'Dumbledore says that it's too dangerous until I can control it. So will you tell me?' Harry said.  
  
'Sure. It was a sphere; it was emerald green, like your eyes, but it had silver mixed in; but the colours stayed separate. Oh, it was so beautiful!' Ginny explained. Harry wished he had paid it more attention. He would have to get Dumbledore to show him how to do it.  
  
'How about opening your presents now, Harry? We'll be leaving soon,' Remus interrupted.  
  
For the first time, Harry noticed the pile of presents that were sitting to the side of the room. He picked up the first, which was from the Weasley twins. They gave him a box of joke items. From Remus, he got a framed picture. It showed his parents, Sirius and Remus on Harry's first birthday; his mum was holding the infant Harry, who was wearing a magical birthday hat that changed colours from time to time and emitted sparkles of light, much to baby Harry's delight. The picture was touching; he couldn't have wished for a better present from Remus, and he told him so. From Dumbledore, Harry got a book entitled 'So You Want To Become a Master Dueller?' The book itself was very big, and Harry guessed it would take him months to learn even half of what it had to offer him. From Ginny, he got a silver necklace with a lion on it; it was in mid-pounce with its head in a roar. The detail was amazing, and Harry thanked Ginny for it at least a dozen times. Not so surprisingly, he didn't get anything from Ron or Hermione, which hurt, despite everything that had happened between them recently.  
  
'Got everything packed up and ready?' Remus asked Harry, after he had sent him back up to his room to get his bag and pack his things.  
  
'Yep, all set,' Harry replied, feeling relieved to be leaving, but sad at the same time.  
  
'Bye, Harry, have a safe journey,' Ginny said.  
  
'Thanks, I'll see you at the station probably. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and don't let Ron and Hermione get you down!' Harry said, and then gave Ginny an awkward hug. He wasn't sure if they were that far in their blossoming friendship yet, but judging from her response they obviously were. She was a bit awkward too, at first, but she seemed to relax into it, which encouraged Harry. When they broke apart, they bade each other goodbye again, and Harry and Remus went to the car.  
  
On the drive home, they talked about all of the spells and magical research that Harry had been learning and researching, which was good for Harry. They swapped views, and talked about concepts and theories of magic. It was when they were nearing the Dursleys' home that Harry thought of something that hadn't occurred to him yet.  
  
'Remus, what's going to happen with the Order? I mean with all of the meetings; is someone going to come and pick me up?' Harry asked.  
  
'Well, we thought that until you were fully trained, we would just update you on the information if something big comes up; and then once you are back at school, Dumbledore will keep you updated,' Remus said.  
  
'Sounds fair to me,' Harry replied. The rest of the drive home passed quickly, and when Harry reached the Dursleys', he bid Remus goodbye with a sigh, and went into the house. 'Home Sweet Home,' Harry grumbled to himself.  
  
***************************************************  
  
A/N: Thanks guys for all the reviews; and a special thanks to MaidenMasherV for the very big and hyper induced review. Hopefully the next chappie will have some action (finally) now that the stage has been set, so to speak. Enjoy!  
  
Muhahahaha: sorry to disappoint; but we both know Harry is a good guy at heart.  
  
MadenMasherV: What a great review, the idea with witch weekly hadn't really occurred to me, but you got my brain thinking with it. As for why Hermione is so bitchy, I hope this chapter at least gave enough of a reason for her being as she is. And don't worry, the terrible trio will be whole again soon. As for the power thing and Draconian type idea, I have something in my mind but it wont be over-dramatic, with Harry having enough power to crack the earth, but he will kick ass soon! The role-playing idea I don't think would work for me, unfortunately; I have enough trouble writing this fic with all of the information that the great J.K Rowling has supplied us with, without having to think up a whole new set of chara's and places. Thank you so much for the review, your hyper driven review boosted my confidence in the fic.  
  
Urgh: thanks for pointing that out to me, I changed it now, hope it is more accurate.  
  
Tower: Thanks for the review. The Hermione thing will become crystal clear soon (next chappie I hope). And as to the Harry-Ginny thing, I am a firm Harry and Ginny shipper, so this story will be, but not right away; after all, Harry is 16, so he deserves a little fun before he settles down. :D

As always edited and corrected by the capable hands (and brain) of David305!  
  
Next chapter: Wormtail and Mark  
  
Until next time.  
GG


	5. Wormtail and Mark

A/N: thanks guys for all the reviews, responses at the bottom. Slight disclaimer, there is a name in the Chapter and rest of the story that I borrowed from Beyblade, the name seemed fitting so I used it. Enjoy the rest of the chappie!

Harry Potter and the Rising War

***

Chapter 5: Wormtail and Mark

Once Harry had gotten back to the Dursley's he had settled into a new routine. Dumbledore had visited him and told him that he would need to keep fit if he wanted to keep his magic in peak performance. Dumbledore explained that the more fit you are the easier the magic will move around your body when you summon it so Harry had taken to going to a gym every other week day and running in the morning or when he couldn't understand something he was researching. In the research department he was making excellent progress. He now had a very good understanding of the theory behind spell development which helped him understand more and more about magic in general and how it worked. The book he had picked up about the history of magic was proving to be very interesting; it seemed that the first magical people were not wizards, but sorcerers and sorceresses who had no need to use a wand. They developed ways to channel their magic through their bodies after their 'awakening' as they called it. In order to create the channels for the magic however they would have to put themselves into a trance-like state and then find their magical centre and push and change it around the body until it was as they wanted. That bit of information together with the wand transfiguration got Harry thinking about wandless magic, and how reliable it would be. Of all of the time he had been in the wizarding world he had never heard of magic without a wand, so he decided he would have a go at the trance thing. 

Harry's magical database and general research on his laptop was becoming so in-depth that he was amazed at what he had created, and even more so that he understood it all. He was sure that he knew more than Hermione about unconventional magic… _'Hermione… why was she and Ron so horrible to me? I didn't ask for all of this, they have no idea about what it's like to be in the papers and public eye for everything he did.' Harry thought to himself and then shook his head to clear it of those thoughts. __'Now is not the time for this.' He told himself. _

That night Harry settled into a calm, comfortable position and began clearing his mind and searching for his magical centre. It felt like hours until Harry located it, and it looked like how Ginny had described his aura, it was a large ball of emerald green-silver magic, constantly flowing. Harry spent a few minutes just gazing at it, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, it was very calming for him and he felt he could relax and let all of the burdens he carried go while he was there. Snapping out of his daze Harry began to experiment with what he could do. It turned out that he could pull strands of magic away from the main ball, however it was extremely painful for him to do so he would have to pull a little at a time so he wouldn't loose his concentration. Dragging it a little every now and then Harry finally managed to guide a thin strand from his core, up his body and then down his arm to his hand. Not knowing what to do with it now he decided to try a little experiment and summoned magic up the thin strand to his hand. Once it got there he moulded it to make a little pool for the magic to stay whilst he is casting the spell he wants. 'The finished product was a thin strand or channel of magic that went from his core or main pool all the way up his body to his hand where a much much much smaller ball, or pool was for a temporary holding place.' Was the final paragraph on his computer for the research on what had happened after he had recovered from exhaustion. From then on when ever Harry needed to rest he meditated and went to his magical core and when he woke up no matter how much time he spent there he would always feel refreshed and ready to face the new day (or night depending on how long he was there for).

It was a week after he had got back to the Dursley's when he received an owl that had a package attached to it, Harry was going to just get rid of it in case it was something unpleasant from Riddle but noticed that the owl was a school one so with more confidence he took the package and the letter from it and let it get something to drink from Hedwig's old cage. _'Suppose I should get myself a new owl?'_ Harry asked himself looking over at the school owl in Hedwig's old cage. With a sigh Harry picked up the letter and opened it immediately recognising Hagrid's untidy scrawl.

_Dear Harry,_

_            Happy Birthday! Sorry that this is late but I had to wait until it was safe to send your present. I heard about your owl, poor thing, so I decided to get you another companion. Hope you like it and remember to bring it (don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet) to see me when you get back to school. I love the things, so beautiful and smart. Well enjoy and treat it well._

_                                    Hagrid._

Harry was very worried at this point. Hagrid's idea of beautiful creatures usually meant something that had at least claws and some form of dangerous magical attribute. Looking hesitantly at the package Harry thought about what he should do with it, he could get rid of it, he thought, but then Hagrid wanted to see it when he got to Hogwarts. He had no choice but open it and hope it wouldn't attack him so with careful hands he pulled the lid off of the box slowly so as not to frighten and provoke whatever creature might lie within. The first thing Harry noticed when the lid was full off was the heat, it wasn't hot enough to burn right through the box, but hot enough to make you sweat. The second thing he noticed was that there was no creature inside, but an egg, it was gold and red, about the size of an ostrich egg. Harry let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding and carefully pulled the egg out of the box and set it down on the pillow on his bed. Also inside the box was a small note from Hagrid.

_Harry, in case you haven't already figured it out yet that egg is a phoenix egg. I found a small nest in the forest and saw the egg along with three or four others, but unfortunately some animal had got to them, the mother fought it off but also died. It should be ready to hatch very soon. Take care of it, it will eat worms and other things like them until it is big enough to hunt for itself. Hagrid._

_'A phoenix egg!__ Wow' Harry thought to himself. This was amazing, he now had a phoenix. Harry couldn't believe his luck, he had always been amazed by the animals and now he had one of his own. Harry sat and admired the egg for a few moments before getting back to his research (he was researching spells and techniques from the book Dumbledore had given him, and also from the book Sirius and Remus got him the year before) and inputting data into his computer._

It was the next day when the egg had hatched, Harry had just got out of the shower after he got back from his run (it was a Tuesday so no gym work today) when he heard a beautiful sound, it was phoenix song but was different from the one Fawks, Dumbledore's Phoenix, sung. Rushing to the bed Harry leaned over the egg waiting for the baby phoenix to push it's self out. It took a few moments and some help from Harry but finally the phoenix had arrived. All thought it was skinny and small and fragile Harry could already tell that it would be a beautiful phoenix (even by their standards). He knew this from its eyes. They were a shinning silver colour, not the normal black. Picking up a tub of worms he found before he went for his shower Harry began to feed the magnificent creature. The rest of the day was spent trying to figure out a name for him, he was sure it was a him as he had discovered the old fashioned way. After much thought he finally settled on Tronza. Tronza seemed to like the name as well as he let out a few notes of his phoenix song when Harry asked him. So it was settled and Harry continued with his invisibility practice, he nearly had it down perfectly, except for his upper clothes. After getting frustrated with the process Harry decided on a run to clear his head and calm his temper so he dressed himself in some running trousers and a white t-shirt he placed Tronza in Hedwig's old cage and exited the house. He went on his usual route which finished at the park he sat at last year, expecting to find it empty but it wasn't. Dudley and his gang were there and so was a little kid. It looked like Mark Evans, the kid Dudley and his gang usually went after. The gang had circled around him and were shouting at him about something, the kid was visibly shaking and already had a black eye and cut lip. Seeing enough Harry decided to help the kid out.

'Well well well, if it isn't big D and his band of merry men?' Harry said approaching them all. He had no idea what he was going to do, but he wanted to do something to help the Evans kid. Ever since Harry's transformation people had been more afraid of him as he looked very intimidating, they often walked on the other side of the street when he went out on his runs, even Dudley and his gang were afraid if they were on their own.

'Oh no! the Potter boy, please, sir don't hurt me, please?' Mark begged. _'Damn those Dursley's and their lies!' _Harry thought. He smiled what he hoped was in reassurance to the kid and then glared at Dudley.

'Don't worry, despite what everyone thinks I am not the criminal of the family, big D here is!' Harry replied without taking his eyes off Dudley.

'Get lost Potter if you know what's good for you!' Peirs Polkiss sneered. Harry was just about to reply when there was a swarm of red lights shot towards the whole group. All of Dudley's gang was hit by them, but luckily Harry had managed to make his way to the Evans kid and get him out of the way and hid behind a bush.

'Stay here and don't move, and for goodness sake don't make a sound!' Harry said to the trembling kid.

'Please, what's happening? What were those red lights?' he asked and then under his breath added 'Wizards?' Harry was a little surprised that he knew about magic but didn't want to think about that at the moment, he needed to get rid of those death eaters. He was sure they were death eaters when he heard one tell the others to search for 'The Potter brat'.

'I'll explain later, but for now stay put.' Harry said as he took his top off. Mark looked confused at what Harry was doing but did as he was told and stayed quiet. Once Harry had his top off he scrunched up his face in concentration and within a few seconds Harry was gone. Mark gasped when he saw what happened and started panicking until he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard Harry reassure him that everything would be all right.

After Harry had calmed mark down he got up from behind the bush and surveyed the situation for a moment. There were 4 death eaters in total, and one was searching not far away from where they were. Thinking fast Harry ran over to the other death eater that seemed to be in charge and tapped him on the shoulder hoping his plan would work. Getting the reaction from the death eater he was hoping for which was for him to spin around and aim for where he thought he felt someone and start and incantation Harry grabbed his arm before the death eater finished the spell and aimed it for the other death eater that was searching the bush right next to where mark was hiding. The spell was fired, which was luckily only the stunning spell, and hit the target in the back causing him to fall over. So far his plan was working but he still had three to go, and it looked like the other two had seen what happened and were heading over this way. 

Thinking quickly Harry moved silently away from the death eater that was in charge and waited until he was behind the other two death eaters. Sneaking up behind them he snatched their wands out of their hands which were dangling to the side of them and snapped them. Unfortunately a spell was fired at him as the death eater in charge had figured Harry's position from where he had been holding the wands. The spell barely missed him as he rolled to the side and as he was coming out of the role he pounced at the death eater in charge and pulled him down to the ground. It was a stroke of luck that his head hit a large rock on the floor, effectively knocking him out and Harry was truly thankful for it. Now all he had was two wandless death eaters to contend with. Thinking of a solution to his situation as the two death eaters nervously looked around their surroundings Harry came up with an idea. Pointing his arm out towards one of the death eaters he said quietly 'stupefy' hoping the wandless magic worked. Unfortunately for him it didn't work effectively, the death eater that he fired it at seemed a little more drowsy but shook it off quickly. Thinking for something else he decided to try a radical idea, he may not have anything to subdue them, but he was sure going to leave his mark, but unfortunately it meant uncovering himself. Moving behind the death eaters Harry concentrated on bringing the magic he was using for the invisibility back to his core and closing off the channels the process had created. Once he had become visible again he once more concentrated on transforming his hands into lion paws. Satisfied with the result, and just in time Harry slashed at the death eaters as they turned around. The first he caught across the face which effectively shattered his white death eater mask. The face behind the mask made Harry pause for a moment. The beady black watery eyes of Peter Pettigrew were looking back at Harry. The hesitation from sight of Pettigrew caused was enough time for the other death eater to swing at Harry. The blow wasn't enough to knock Harry over but he lost his footing and his glasses which was not good as he was practically blind without them. Not bothering to fumble around to find them Harry leapt at the blur he thought was Wormtail and started taking swipes at his face with his transformed paws, meanwhile the other death eater had ran to the knocked out leader and took his wand, but before he was able to use it he was struck by a red light from behind. Looking up to hope to get an idea of what just happening Harry felt the wait below him disappear. _'Shit! The bastard got away. Damn him!'_ Harry thought to himself as he realised just what had happened. Wormtail transformed and scurried away.

'Harry are you okay?' came the friendly voice of Tonks.

'Yeah I'm fine, can you find my glasses please? The other death eater knocked them off' Harry replied. Once Tonks had handed them to him he called out to the Evans kid.

'Mark, it's okay you can come out now.' On the other side of the park a small figure crawled out from behind a bush and made its way over towards them.

'Harry what happened?' asked a new voice. Turning around he came face to face with Remus. Hugging him in greeting first Harry began to explain everything that happened.

'How do you know about wizards Mark?' Remus asked after Harry was finished explaining. Mark dug around in his pockets for a moment and then pulled out a familiar looking piece of parchment. 

'I got this today, but I thought it was a joke until I saw what happened here.' He said handing Remus his Hogwarts acceptance letter.

'Shouldn't a professor have visited him?' Harry asked Remus.

'Yeah, but if he wasn't at home at the time then they wait until the person is' Remus replied.

'Well I was walking down the street when the owl dropped this at my feet, I think that's when Dudley and his gang found me, after I had read over it.' Mark told them all and then added to Harry, 'So you aren't a criminal after all, you're a wizard?'.

Harry smiled at him and nodded his head. 'Sure am, your gonna love it when you get to Hogwarts, trust me.' Harry said.

'Will I learn how to become invisible and turn my hands into paws like you?' he asked eagerly. Harry was sad to have to disappoint him but it had to be done.

'Sorry but no. what I did today isn't taught at Hogwarts, the first thing I did, turning invisible, takes a great deal of concentration, determination, will power not to mention magical so it has the potential to be very dangerous. The second thing I did, with the paws was only a half finished thing. See I'm learning to change myself into an animal, a lion to be precise, and this is about as dangerous, if not more so than the invisible thing. I won't go into great detail about it as the professor that will meet with you I should imagine will answer any questions you have, especially if you get McGonnegall, she can turn into a cat. But you have to promise me that you won't tell any one that I can do those things. Will you?' Harry said.

'Of course! I'm just so glad to be a wizard!' he exclaimed excitedly. Harry laughed at his eagerness and excitement. A big part of him wished he was in marks position, but what good was wishing when you were stuck with what you had? After Mark had gone home (Harry told him that there would probably be someone waiting for him) Remus walked Harry back to the Dursley's while Tonks took care of the death eaters.

'Remus, how come the order got here so late?' Harry asked him.

'Dung was on guard duty, and he wasn't as conscious or sober as we would have liked him to be, but the issue is being addressed and I dare say he won't be here on duty again, this is the second time he has fowled up.' Remus told him with a sigh

'Will you let me know what happens with the death eaters?' Harry asked as they approached the house.

'Yeah, but it will have to be the next time I see you. By the way professor Dumbledore said that you should be receiving your school stuff sometime soon.

'Okay, thanks a lot Remus, I suppose I'll see you September 1st providing everything stays as normal as it ever gets at the Durley's.' Harry said as he stood in the doorway.

'See you then hopefully, take care' Remus said and hugged Harry.

'You too!' and with a 'pop' Remus was gone.

The days that followed were more intense for Harry. After seeing how much more he needed to improve he began to practice everything he could, turning invisible, animagus transformation and wandless magic. He stepped up his research and magical knowledge when he received his school books (courtesy of Fawks who seemed to hit it off with Tronza straight away). When Harry finally finished with the invisible transformation he began creating spells on paper for now. All though he was getting very good at this branch of magic he still needed to keep referring to his notes for different wand movement. When creating a spell you have to create the right wand movement by combining smaller wand movements, for example a complete circle wand motion would set a parameter for the spell to continue in a loop forever or until the counter spell is used. The more complicated the spell the more intricate the wand movements were and the spells Harry was writing down were very intricate. The words to the spell only helped to focus your mind to draw the magic for the spell so they weren't always necessary. Harry read in the book that there were excuses for the rules, and they were the 3 unforgivables. Instead of the wand weaving patterns to draw the magic they were simply pointed, the magic was drawn upon simply by the spell casters intent to cause pain or suffering or even death to the victim which was why Harry was unable to do the Curciatus on Bellatrix Lestrange at the ministry.

Progress for his animagus transformation was slow and painful but things were getting done, he now had his lower body (minus tail) and front paws transformed which Harry assumed was quite a sight as on one of his sessions Dudley walked in took one look at Harry and screamed and then fainted. It had taken hours for Harry to persuade Dudley that what he thought he saw was not real, but in the end he caved and believed Harry when he suggested that it might have been the product of something that he had smoked.

Wandless magic training was by far the hardest to do, Harry had made little progress, the most he could do was light the palm of his hand for a few seconds before he fell to floor exhausted. Apparently the ministry was unable to pick up purposeful wandless magic which was good for Harry. The book he had been reading had told him that it would take a lot of time to get the body used to the flow of the magic through his arm without something drawing it. Pushing the magic himself was about as exhausting as his gym sessions but didn't have the bonus of making him look less like a tall lanky 16 year old but a lean 20 year old, especially now that he had gave up shaving and was just letting a beard grow.

The last of Harry's magical research that he was doing from both his transfiguration books was about improving his senses, Harry guessed that both Dumbledore and Riddle had undergone similar transformations. Dumbledore always seemed to know what was being said or done and Harry knew he could see through invisibility cloaks. He also wanted to find a way to fix his eye sight problem permanently and not have to rely on the sense heightening spell. So far he had found a spell for seeing through magical illusions, heightening the 5 senses at will and from the_ 'so you want to transform yourself to be better at stuff?' book he had found a spell that would let you be able to see magic at will, so Harry would be able to see if someone had been put under a spell, or something was changed into a portkey. He shivered at that thought, remembering the grave yard back in his fourth year. Slowly but surely Harry was becoming a very formidable opponent and earned the title of Sorcerer. _

Sure enough things stayed as normal around the place as normal could get at the Dursley's and time seemed to fly until September 1st rolled around. Harry was equally excited about returning to the magical world as he was disappointed and dare he admit it, afraid. Harry had got his uncle to take him to kings cross using a mild threat of Moody having to pick him up on a broom stick if he didn't agree and in no time at all Harry was at kings cross with a trunk packed full of all of his stuff (including stereo system and laptop) and Tronza asleep in Hedwig's old cage under Harry's invisibility cloak. Unfortunately for Harry his uncle only admitted defeat under his circumstances, which meant he had to be at the station early, very early. 

By eight o'clock Harry had all of his things stacked on a trolley and was making his way towards the barrier to platform 9 3/4. Glancing around to make sure that no one was watching Harry walked through the barrier and onto the platform which was empty of any people so Harry decided on getting his laptop out and continuing on with some of his own research and magical theory. He had also taken Tronza out of his cage and placed him on his shoulder (the young phoenix had a full body of feathers and was now getting larger.) Harry found it easier to work when he had Tronza on his shoulder; he felt completely calm and could think clearly. It was another two and a half hours before anyone showed up and Harry was surprised to see that the first to arrive (after him) was Mark Evans and his family. Harry supposed the professor who had been to visit the family to make sure they believed the letter told them about the barrier, something Hagrid had forgot to mention to Harry when he had been collected from the 'care' of his blood relatives. Seeing the look of awe on their faces made Harry smile. _'Ah what it must be like to be a first year again'_ he thought to himself with a sigh. It was a few moments before mark recognised Harry but when he did he lead his family over to him to be introduced.

'Hello Harry' he said.

'Hello Mark, Mr and Mrs Evans' Harry replied politely

'Well this is certainly not St Brutus' or what ever Petunia had said was the school you go to!' said Mr Evans with a smile.

'Not quite sir' Harry said with a small chuckle and then added 'My relatives don't like anything to do with magic, they consider it abnormal so they tend to make up excuses for where I am most of the year or any odd behaviour.' Harry told them.

'I didn't realise that you used computers at Hogwarts, the man that came to see us certainly didn't say you did.' Mrs Evans remarked when she noticed the computer on Harry's lap.

'Well we don't ma'am, but I find it a lot easier to organise all of my thoughts and research' Harry said.

'What sort of bird is that on your shoulder, I don't think I've ever seen one before.' Mr Evans asked.

'It's a phoenix sir, still quite young. He's called Tronza' Harry told them. The rest of the time until the train left was spent talking about Hogwarts and magic and other things related. They were occasionally interrupted by a few people from the DA that was held last year. Close to eleven the order turned up with Ron, Hermione and Ginny, still not talking to Ron or Hermione Harry greeted Ginny and they boarded the train after saying a brief hello and good bye with the order for Harry and finding out what happened to the death eaters that they had caught from Remus. It turned out that Riddle had taken on an apprentice as well and Harry didn't need any one to tell him who it was because he knew straight away. Malfoy was his new apprentice and not Malfoy senior either. He supposed that the majority of his training was over the summer and that he would probably portkey or something at night. Unfortunately nothing could be done about it as the death eaters had been killed while they were being held at the ministry so there was no evidence left. As he stepped on the train the whistle blew and the train began moving. Harry was on his way home now.

*********************************************************************

That's it for this chapter, hope it was up to scratch, here are the responses to review, and sorry this chapter took so long to post, I could list dozens of excuses but your not here to read them and I'm sure they aren't quite as interesting as the story. Also sorry guys but you are going to have to wait a few more chappies for the golden trio to be complete again.

Skaped: thanks for the review, I'm glad I got the balance right, I hate reading a story when it skips large chunks of time without very much information.

Brawn and Brain: thanks for the review, it helped me come up with the idea of the D.E attack on one of his runs. And I'll try not to contradict myself in descriptions in future.

MaidenMasherV: Sorry for the lack of detail there, I should have explained that Harry was surrounded by his aura and Ginny couldn't see him properly through it, just a shadowy figure. Thanking you for the review. :D

Huffy Puffy Mashmellow: thanks for the review, made me chuckle and get a few worried glances from my family. (they think I'm insane and chuckling to myself doesn't help my case)

Thanks for the support from Addicted to Coffee, pinata and Nefertiri Riddle, and in answer to Nefertiri Riddle's question yes they will in either the next chapter or the chapter after.

Next Chapter: Home sweet home.

Until next time. 

                             GG


	6. Home Sweet Home

Harry Potter and the Rising War

***

Chapter 6: Home sweet home

When Harry was on the train he and Ginny went to look for a spare compartment, unfortunately they came upon Ron and Hermione whilst they were searching the train and there was no adults around to sensor any of the things that were said.

'Looking for an especially reserved compartment for heroes?' Ron asked.

'Try the woman's toilets, I think they are best suited for some one of your stature.' Hermione added whilst reading a book. Harry was seething with rage, it was blinding him so much that he didn't even see the look of horror that came upon Hermione's face after she had said it, however as quick as it was to appear, it was even quicker to disappear. Not wanting to do something he would probably regret later he allowed Ginny to pull him away, but not before Ron got another one in. 'And would you look at that, it looks like super hero Potter has finally grown to look something like man!' Harry was now boiling with rage and it was a good thing that Ginny got him into an empty compartment when she did because as soon as she closed the door Harry exploded in anger, literally. As if sensing the danger Tronza made his way into the compartment they were about to enter and settled in the luggage holder above everything out of harms way. Harry was pushed into the compartment and straight away the glass exploded and due to the magic that was being influenced by his emotions he unwittingly transformed a part of his body into the last thing he had been practicing for his animagus training, as the glass shattered he let loose a primal roar that could have scared off even the bravest of the beasts. Ginny screamed when she heard the beastly roar escape from Harry's lips which seemed enough to bring Harry back to reality. Calming himself and transforming his voice box back Harry sat down and fixed the smashed glass and then noticed a small audience had gathered around their compartment.

'What the bloody hell was that?' asked Seamus.

'Oh it was er… it was one of the twins' jokes. You know what those guys are like.' Harry said thinking quickly. Seeming happy with the answer the crowd began to disappear and Harry sighed in relief. Ginny just sat there staring at him through the whole thing. Eventually when the shock died away she managed to ask him what the noise was, and how did he manage to make it.

'Well I suppose I was so angry at _them _that my magic went haywire and I transformed part of my body accidentally.'

'But how, I mean that's very advanced even for a wand, you would have to be an animagus to..' she trailed off as realisation dawned on her.

'That's right, though I'm not fully trained yet.' Harry said to her.

'What animal?' she asked

'A lion, so far I can do the lower body, minus a tail, front paws and now my voice box.' Harry said

'When did you start to learn?' Ginny asked interestedly.

'Well when Dumbledore came to tell me, you know, well he also offered me the position of his apprentice and told me to research unconventional magic' Harry replied. Seeing the blank look on his face Harry began explaining to her about most of the things he had been learning and what he planed to do. It didn't take long for him to get most of the basic stuff that he had done explained. He left out the fire elemental and the extra transformations. Basically he just told her off his animagus training and the research he had been doing, as well as the spell creation.

'And that's basically it' Harry said to round up his explanation.

'I see. Well I must say that your working out seems to have paid off, you look… better' Ginny said, but then realising what she was saying she trailed off and blushed, luckily Harry was distracted, looking at the luggage compartment above them.

'Thanks' Harry replied absent mindedly as he got up from his seat and approached the section of the baggage compartment he had been looking at.

'What's wrong Harry?' She asked him, beginning to worry a little.

'Don't worry, I totally forgot about my little friend here, he's been unusually quiet' Harry said reaching up and then collecting something in his arms. Slowly and delicately he lowered his arms and Ginny gasped when she realised what it was.

'Is that a phoenix?' she gasped

'Yeah, his name is Tronza, Hagrid got him for me' Harry said as the bird jumped to his shoulder.

'Wow, he's so beautiful, look at his eyes! And his feathers' Ginny said. Understanding he was being admired they young phoenix puffed his chest out proudly and let out his beautiful phoenix song. Harry completely forgot about his anger from earlier hearing Tronza sing, he always had this effect on Harry.

'Such a relaxing and perfect song too!' Ginny added.

'Yeah and he's perfectly modest about it all!' Harry said sarcastically. The phoenix stopped singing and looked at him, then all of a sudden attacked him with a barrage of pecks on the head.

'Ouch! Okay, okay I'm sorry!' Harry said rubbing his now painful head. Ginny giggled at Harry and Tronza's antics.

'Harry, will you be okay on your own… I should probably go and find Dean' Ginny asked, biting her lip. She sounded like that was the last thing that she wanted to do.

'I'm sure I'll be able to manage without you, after all I do have my very good friend here to keep me company' Harry said as he indicated the phoenix with his head. Again he stuck out his chest proudly and trilled his approval of such a title. Ginny laughed and quickly petted Tronza before bidding them farewell. 

Once they were alone Harry once again took out his laptop, but this time instead of turning it on and doing more revision and research Harry took out the book on charming muggle objects. He was still unsure if he was aloud to do it, the book he had got told him that it was illegal to modify the artefact with magic to do something more or better than what it was designed to do, however the book was over 50 years old and from Knockturn alley. Finding the marked spells Harry took his wand out and pointed it at his laptop (he had made a backup of the data on a cd before he left) and began the spells, he had practiced the wand movements occasionally and was now certain he had them right. Beginning the first spell he started waving his wand and said:_ Altum ab magicus_, a thin blue beam of light enveloped the computer, then seemed to get absorbed, the next spell was done right after the light seemed to be absorbed, Harry chanted _Adfluo__ abs magicus, the spell was fired off after the series of Complex wand movements and a thin fragile looking beam of red light began circling the laptop. The next spell, _Haustum___ magicus, shot a yellow beam of light that seemed to be absorbed by the laptop on impact. _Defendo___ magicus was a silver colour and circled the laptop with the red light. The final spell, _Uti___ ab magicus, was fired, there was a green glow to the laptop and then all traces of the magic seemed to disappear._

'Phew, that was hard Tronza' Harry said wiping his brow clean from the sweat that had made its way to his head from the amount of concentration he had used. Tronza fluttered his wings impatiently and trilled at him.

'All right, all right, I'll check it now. But if it blows up I will blame you' Harry said, gaining a peck in the head from his phoenix. He picked the laptop up and placed it on his knees and opened it up.

'Here goes nothing!' he said as he pressed the button to make it work. He scrunched up his eyes and braced himself, but nothing seemed to happen to him so he risked glancing at the screen. 

'It worked!' Harry shouted. Tronza sung a few notes to show his approval. To Harry's surprise, the magic seemed to have sped the thing up as well because in no time everything was loaded and Harry was searching through his notes. He had decided to leave the stereo system for when he got to Hogwarts so he had more room, and didn't have to get the thing out for a few seconds just to put it back again. He did however put in one of his cd's, Metallica, and turned the volume up after placing a silencing charm on his compartment.

It was lucky the song Harry had just been listening to finished when it did other wise he would never have heard Malfoy and his two goons enter his compartment. He turned the volume down a little just as the next song came on, 'one' , which was one of his favourites.

'Well look at this, Potter is all alone and lost in the world. I see Weasel and Mudblood finally came to their senses, concerning you that is, and ditched you' Malfoy sneered. His two goons laughed as if on auto pilot to do so.

'Hey Malfoy, killed anybody important lately?' Harry retorted. Malfoy narrowed his eyes at Harry but when the music from the laptop began to get heavier Malfoy noticed it.

'What's this? Lowering yourself to the muggle standards, I should expect nothing better from someone like you.' Malfoy said.

'Well I admit it isn't the latest line in muggle torture devices, but you don't see me going around and criticising you for your lack of muggle technology' Harry said back.

'You think you're so funny don't you? Well I'd like to see that humour when the dark lord gets his hands on you!' Malfoy snapped back, realising Harry was matching insult for insult and then some more.

'I don't need to be humorous around old Tom, you obviously haven't looked at his face yet while you're at your private lessons' Harry said casually, glancing back down at his laptop. Malfoy was both enraged at the insult to not just him but his master and confused on how Harry knew about his apprenticeship so he began to draw his wand and fire a curse at him when he found a wand already pointed at him.

'I see you still have something to learn from Riddle.' Harry said casually and then added in a dangerously low voice 'You have no idea what you are getting yourself into, now get out'. Not wanting to see what would happen if he stuck around Malfoy and his goons left the compartment leaving Harry feeling slightly better about the situation. He was afraid the dark lord would have put him through the same sort of transformations as he went through but it didn't appear so. The rest of the train ride went by smoothly and in no time at all the Hogwarts Express had arrived at the Hogsmeade platform. Harry was one of the last to leave the train however because he had a hard time trying to convince Tronza that he had to stay in the cage, but eventually Tronza caved when Harry promised to take him to see Fawks. 

Arriving in the entrance hall Harry noticed he was getting a few more glances than normal, mostly from the females and some were even giggling too. He hoped his new look wouldn't cause him too much trouble this year, that was the last thing he needed. When the great hall doors opened Harry bid Tronza farewell and left a note attached to the cage asking the house elf to let Tronza out when he was in the dorm. 

The great hall looked as extravagant as Harry remembered; from the enchanted ceiling to the floating candles Harry loved it all. Once everyone was seated, in Harry's case away from Ron and Hermione, professor McGonagall entered with the scared looking first years and the sorting hat. She placed the hat upon the empty three legged stool in front of the teachers table and the hat sang its new song and then professor McGonagall began to read the list of new students. Avery, Samuel was first to be sorted and he went into Slytherin who by the end of the sorting had 12 new students. Ravenclaw had 10, Hufflepuff had 8 and Gryffindor had 13, including Mark Evans. When Mark had sat near Harry and began chatting with him the other first years seemed in awe at the fact that he was acquainted with 'the Harry Potter'. Mark had no idea what every one was gawping at until someone told him why Harry was so famous but it didn't really seem to faze him too much which Harry was glad of. When the sorting ended Dumbledore stood to speak to the school.

'Welcome, and welcome back to you all, I will not bore you with an old mans babble until the end of the feast so Dig in!' Dumbledore said and then the food appeared on the tables. Harry had been looking forward to this all summer, sure he was fed decent sized meals at the Dursley's but nothing compared to the house-elves cooking, especially not Aunt Petunia's. Harry was asked several times during the feast why he was not sitting with Ron and Hermione and each time he would say 'We have had a difference of opinion' and pretty soon people stopped asking him seeing they wouldn't get anything else from him. That didn't mean to say they didn't leave the subject. It seemed Ron and Hermione were more than willing to talk about their 'Differ of opinions' but Harry didn't care. All too soon the food was finished and everything except the cutlery and crockery had disappeared and Dumbledore was on his feet again.

'Now that our stomachs are full and our gossip gossiped I think it is time for the announcements. Now I am sure you have all noticed the new professor at the table who will be teaching the Defence Against the Dark Arts' Harry realised he hadn't and looked to see who it was, locating the seat for the DADA teacher Harry was shocked, excited (and a little worried) to see who was sitting there. 'I would like to introduce professor Tonks' she stood up and bowed over dramatically a few times which earned a glare from Snape and seated herself again.

'Next I am sure 6th years and up have noticed the new courses that are available' there was some excited whispers running through the hall at the mention of the three new courses. Harry wondered why there were no new professors for those subjects, but waited to find out from Dumbledore. 'Silence please' Dumbledore said and immediately there was silence. Harry marvelled at the power Dumbledore had over people. 'Now as I was saying the new courses that are available this year for 6th and 7th years will be taught by Madame Pomfrey for Healing, professor Flitwick or professor Vector for Spell modification depending on who is available and Magical Duelling will be taught by Professor Snape' there was a collective groan from the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Snape just glared at everyone, especially Harry. 'Now now I am quite sure that professor Snape will be an excellent teacher.' There were a few 'humphs' heard through the hall but Dumbledore chose not to comment. 'The extra lessons will be taught in the evenings, please consult your time tables for your class tomorrow morning. Now onto other matters, the forbidden forest is as the name suggests, forbidden. If you enter the forest unsupervised then you are likely to not leave again with your life. Mr. Filch has asked me to remind the students that magic is not to be used in the corridors and any product of the Weasley Twins found in the possession of any student will be dealt with severely. The full list of banned items is on the caretaker's office door to be viewed by any one who wishes to consult it.' Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and his beard twitched as he said about the Weasley Twins and the banned items list. 'Now onto more serious matters, we are in dark times with the return of Voldemort and I urge each and everyone of you to be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary. We live in constant danger now so we must make sure that that danger is as low as possible. Now please everyone have a good night sleep and I shall see you all bright and early and eager to work tomorrow morning. Good night to you all.' The headmaster finished. While everyone was exiting the hall Harry approached Dumbledore at the head table.

'Hello Harry, good to see you are well' Dumbledore said

'Hello sir, thank you. I was wandering if I could have your input on a certain law?' Harry asked

'Certainly Harry what do you need to know?' Dumbledore replied jovially.

'Well I was wondering if it was still legal to charm muggle objects to work in a magical environment?' asked Harry.

'I believe it is, the ministry would never dream of outlawing it, they rely on some muggle things to function as they do' Dumbledore said. Harry relaxed visibly at Dumbledore's answer. 'Why do you ask if you don't mind me asking?' Dumbledore said with a chuckle.

'Well I got a muggle computer and stereo system over the summer and I have become attached to them. I use the computer to store my magic research and notes.' Harry said.

'That sounds very interesting. Would you mind bringing it along to our first lesson tomorrow? I would very much like to see how it works and how it helps you.' Dumbledore asked him.

'Certainly sir, I was wondering about the lessons also' Harry said uncertain if they should talk this much about them when there were still teachers at the table.

'You will receive the necessary information with your time table' Dumbledore said, and then leaned closer and whispered just loud enough for Harry to hear 'I told the staff that you would be having Occulmency lessons with me.' Harry nodded his head.

'Right well that's all I needed to know sir, thank you for your help. Good night.' Harry said.

'Good night Harry' Dumbledore replied as Harry headed out of the great hall and up to his common room. Unfortunately when he got there he realised he didn't know the password.

'Couldn't you just let me in please, you know it's me!' Harry said frustrated at the portrait of the fat lady.

'Sorry but you know I can't do a thing unless you know the password.' Was all the response he got. Luckily it wasn't long before the portrait hole was opened from the inside by Ginny.

'Oh there you are, I was just going to come and look for you' Ginny said

'I got held up talking to Dumbledore' Harry said as he climbed into the Gryffindor common room. Looking around the common room he truly felt that he was home now, there was nothing that would take away the calmness being in this room brought to him, nothing but what Ginny said to him next that is.

'I should tell you that while you were gone and at dinner Ron and Hermione were saying some pretty bad stuff about you and well… lets just say you aren't everybody's favourite person right now.'

'What have they been saying?' Harry asked dreading the answer.

'Well when they were asked why you weren't sitting with them they told everyone that they didn't want to sit with a glory seeking murderer, I think you can get the gist of the other things they have been saying.' Ginny said. The reaction from Harry wasn't at all what she was expecting but that didn't mean it wasn't equally as bad. The twinkle in his eyes seemed to disappear and his face became emotionless. This was not what Harry needed right now, he seemed to be doing so well accepting Sirius' death and moving on. _'Damn that git Ron, and Hermione. They don't even care what they're doing to Harry, he hasn't done anything to deserve this, he's innocent, vulnerable, sad and really hot… no wait, where did that come from, I don't fancy him, I cant,  I'm over him!' _Ginny thought to herself as a blush came to her face. Harry noticed the blush but mistook it for anger which Ginny was very thankful for.

'Thanks for the heads up Gin, I'll see you tomorrow, I got to go and unpack. Good night' Harry said to her.

'Good night Harry, and don't let them get to you.' Ginny said and smiled reassuringly at him. _'Such a cute smile, especially when she… no wait what am I thinking?!? God I must be tired or something, yeah that's it tired.' Harry thought to himself as he smiled back and headed for his dorm. When he went inside it was like the place had been frozen in time, everything had stopped and all of the occupants of the dorm were just looking at him. Deciding to not let them get to him like Ginny had said Harry just walked over to his trunk and opened it up. He pulled out his laptop and placed it on the bed and then pulled out the stereo system and also put that on the bed._

'Ha.. Harry, why do you have muggle stuff here, you do know it doesn't work right?' Neville asked him. Looking up in surprise that someone was talking to him Harry realised for the first time that Neville didn't seem to believe what Ron and Hermione had been saying. _'Why would he idiot? He was there too remember!'_ Harry thought to himself.

'Well the laptop is for all of the research and stuff to go on that I do, it's easier and a lot quicker than parchment and quill' Harry told him.

'What's a laptop?' Neville asked either missing the glares he was getting from the other boys or just ignoring them.

'Well its like a.. urm.. well… I tell you what I'll show you tomorrow what it is, it's easier than trying to explain.' Harry said

'Okay thanks, hey what about the other thing?' Neville asked

'This is a stereo system, it's like the WWN but it can play music from one of these' Harry said, holding up his Evanescence cd.

'Wow, that's amazing, those muggles are really clever' Neville commented. 

'Sure are.' Harry replied

'So how do they work here?' Neville asked again.

'Well I found some charms that will make them work here.' Harry said.

'Aha! It's illegal to charm muggle objects and it's my duty as the son of the head of misuse of muggle artefacts department at the ministry of magic to report you' Ron said triumphantly.

'You go ahead and try but I have already consulted Dumbledore about it and he told me that it is not illegal to charm them so they work in a magical environment.' Harry replied with a satisfied smirk on his face. Ron, seeing he couldn't win went back to his unpacking mumbling something or other under his breath. Harry also returned to his unpacking and when he was finally finished he had his stereo system on his chest of drawers, laptop on his bedside table as well as the picture Remus had given him for his birthday and all his new clothes in drawers.

Once he was done Harry took his wand out of his pocket and pointed it at his stereo system and recited the same set of spells as he used last time on his laptop (with some consultancy with the book) and when he was done Harry placed a silencing charm around his bed and chest of drawers so only he could hear the music. Testing the system Harry turned it on and put in his Evanescence cd that he had showed Neville earlier and turned the volume up. A lot. Happy with the result Harry turned it back off after listening to 'Going Under' and got ready for bed. Lying in bed Harry ran through the list of things that would be happening tomorrow. His first day as a 6th year, his first private lesson with Dumbledore, his Elemental transformation and all of the sense heightening transformations. Despite his social status Harry was happy to be back at Hogwarts, happy to be back home where he belonged.

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A/N: well that's it for another chapter. Things should get more interesting now the stage has been set and Harry is back in the magical world. The next chapter will defiantly have the truth about Ron and Hermione. Thanks for all the support from everyone (_athenakitty__, Slimpun, PBlegacy, linky2, IODA, hermionegreen, wadeki, Nefertiri Riddle, Charlie (thanks for the awesome rating), eriktheviking, rhinemjr and Dumbledore) who has reviewed! I never expected all of the reviews but its great motivation so give your selves a good pat on the back because this story is being inspired by you all!!!_

Next Chapter: Scouted and Fired!

Untill next time!

                   GG


	7. Scouted and Fired!

Harry Potter and the Rising War

***

Scouted and Fired!

As usual Harry was up at the crack of dawn after another restful meditation/sleep for his morning work out. He had yet to decide what he was going to do about it now that he didn't have the gym. After a few minutes of thinking Harry decided a few laps around the lake would suffice and maybe even a few laps in the lake also. He got out of bed and pulled out some running gear and a pair of swimming shorts and got changed into them and then he called Tronza down from his perch Harry had transfigured for him 'Morning boy, how about we go out for a bit of exercise?' Harry asked him. He got a few notes of phoenix song in reply and then felt him perch on his shoulder. He made for the door when he heard Ron mumble something in his sleep, he appeared to be having a bad dream because he kept tossing and turning but after everything that had happened with him recently Harry didn't care about what Ron was dreaming and left the dorm for the lake.

Not sure how far he used to run at Privit Drive Harry decided he would run until he started to get tired, then give himself a few minutes to relax before going for the swim. 5 laps of the lake later saw Harry sitting at the edge of one of the banks getting himself undressed. He put his cloths and wand in a neat pile next to where he was sitting and then slowly inched himself into the lake. It wasn't as cold as he thought it was, but it certainly wasn't swimming pool hot. He took a few minutes to get used to the temperature and then began swimming. This was a little more difficult than Harry had expected, he knew he wasn't the worlds best swimmer but this was just terrible. Finally after twenty minutes of splashing about he got the hang of it, though still not perfectly, and did his work out. When he got out of the lake he used a charm to dry himself off and put his cloths back on and made his way back up to the Gryffindor Tower after calling Tronza back to him from his exploration of the grounds. 'Hey boy, how about I take you to see Fawks this evening?' Harry asked him and again he got the phoenix song in reply and the phoenix rubbed his head with his own. Once there he took a shower and then got changed again just as all the other boys in the dorm were getting up and he went down to breakfast.

'Morning, you were up early this morning weren't you?' Ginny asked as she sat herself down next to him.

'Yeah, well I worked hard over the summer to get into shape and I'll be damned if I'm just gonna let it all go to waste' Harry said as he reached over for some bacon. 'How did you know I was up anyway?' Harry added as an after thought

'I saw you returning to the tower and figured you must have been out for a while before.' She lied, she had heard someone up and about and went to investigate, when she saw Harry she hid and waited for him to leave the common room then she perched herself at the window and watched his whole morning workout.

'Oh right, hey here are the time tables' Harry said when he looked up to see McGonagall coming down the table handing them out.

'Potter, Ms. Weasley, here are your timetables and Potter your ban on Quidditch has been lifted, your broom will be returned to you when you go to the headmaster for your extra lesson.' She said when she got to them.

'Thank you professor' Harry and Ginny chorused.

'Does that mean your back on the team then?' Ginny asked Harry. He had expected her to be upset but she didn't seem to care.

'I'll probably have to go to try-outs again. Why aren't you upset about losing your position?' Harry asked her.

'Well I always wanted to be a chaser' Ginny replied. Their conversation was stopped there so they could both look over their schedules. The first lesson for Harry was DADA and it was mixed houses for everyone who got an E or over in their OWL's and then he had charms. Harry didn't bother to look at the rest of his schedule for the day ahead of him, he wanted to see when and for how long he was with Dumbledore for. Harry saw that he had lessons with Dumbledore every evening except Thursdays and the weekend, but he had full afternoons of lessons on the weekend. In his free periods Harry had lessons also except again Thursdays where he only had normal lessons in the morning. It seemed Dumbledore had a lot to teach him, but he didn't mind. It was exciting for him to be spending so much time learning from, in his eyes the master of magic. Each evening lesson ran from after dinner until 10 at night. That was about 4 hours, plus the free periods and the weekends!

'I don't believe how much time It's going to take' Harry breathed in astonishment.

'What?' Ginny asked him looking up from her timetable.

'Look at this Gin' Harry said as he handed her the timetable. Her reaction was pretty much the same as Harry's, she was shocked.

'When are you supposed to have time for anything else?' she asked him.

'What do you mean anything else? All I have now is Quidditch and I have a feeling practice will be held on Thursdays. I don't have to worry about spending my time with friends now, all I have left is you and Neville so there will be enough time.' Harry said as he thought about all the free time he had and all the things he had to fill it. He looked up to the staff table and saw Dumbledore looking at him with the twinkle in his eyes and a smile on his face. Harry wasn't sure but he thought the old man something up his sleeve for tonight. 

'Oh Harry look at the time, were going to be late.' Ginny suddenly said.

'Right, I'll see you at dinner then.' Harry said as he got up and grabbed his stuff. He just about made it in time for the class and was very glad he had got into shape this summer other wise he might not have made it on time.

'Ah Harry, nice of you to join use' Tonks said cheerfully.

'Sorry Ton… professor Tonks' Harry said getting a stern (if possible from Tonks) look from her. He seated himself next to Ernie Mcmillon, who Harry could have sworn gave him a dirty look and moved off to the side away from Harry. _'I see Ron and Hermione have been working their magic in here too' Harry thought to himself as Tonks began to call Roll._

'Okay then class, Today we will begin working on duelling curses, I know most of you will be going to the magical duelling class but you need to know some curses to duel with.' Tonks told them all. The rest of the lesson was spent with Tonks showing them a curse, its counter curse and then getting them all to try. Tonks had used Malfoy as her test 'Dummy' as she called him after he tried his usual routine with her, thinking he could get away with anything because she was young but inexperienced. How wrong he was because by the end of the class he had to go and see Madame Pomfrey due to all of the injuries he got from not listening to Tonks properly about how to block some of her curses.

The rest of the lessons seemed to fly by, and in every single one Harry breezed through the assigned work due to his new understanding of how magic worked and why it worked and his (greatly) increased magic capacity. He could tell he was getting on Hermione's nerves by doing everything before she did and he loved it. At one point she actually accused Harry of cheating because he was too stupid to be able to do it first time which had earned her 10 points from Gryffindor from McGonagall. In no time at all Harry was at the stone gargoyle that guarded the headmasters office and was trying all of the passwords he could think of. He swore that the professor did it on purpose just to see him try and get the password. In the end Harry just shouted 'Stupid Sweets' at the end of a tirade about the professors password and the gargoyle jumped out of the way and let him pass.

'Ah Harry I see you figured out the password' Dumbledore said as Harry came towards the open doors.

'Why didn't you tell me what it was, and more to the point, why stupid sweets?' Harry asked as he entered the office.

'I find it interesting to see who can guess my passwords, it says a lot about the person that can. I was about to come and collect you actually. As to why stupid sweets I found a curious shop whilst in Diagon Alley and found the sweets among others such as Ton-Tongue-Toffees' He said with a twinkle in his eyes.

'They Weasley Twins have a shop open now? That's great! I don't really need to ask the effects of the Stupid Sweet' Harry said, truly happy that the twins were doing what they dreamed to do.

'Yes it is. Now before we get down to business there is something that a friend of mine would like to discuss with you.' Dumbledore said just as the fire in his fire place turned green and a man walked out. The man was fairly tall and quite well built. He had shorts sandy brown hair a grey eyes. He had a smile on his face and Harry could tell that this man did a lot of smiling.

'Right on Queue. Harry this is Mr. Broseley, a scout for the English national Quidditch team.' Dumbledore introduced. As soon as he said English National Quidditch team Harry's heart shot right up to his throat. Obviously hi face showed some of the emotion he was feeling as both mean chuckled at him.

'Good t… to meet you, sir' Harry said shaking the mans hand.

'Harry, to get straight to the point, I am a scout for England and I have been watching you play last year, well the matches you were allowed to play in, and I have very rarely seen talent such as what you display. We would have approached you sooner but of course you were banned from ever playing Quidditch again anywhere and also you were under age, but as you are now 16 I would like to offer you a try-out with the team, and if you are good enough a spot on the starting line up.' The man explained.

'But don't you already have at least one seeker?' Harry asked.

'Yes we still have our starting seeker, but if you manage to perform better than he does then he will be the reserve and you the starting, and the other way around. Now what do you say?' Mr Broseley asked.

'Well I don't know if I will have the time…' Harry trailed off, looking to Dumbledore for his input on whether or not he would have the time.

'Yes Harry you will have plenty of time, I have already taken the liberty to clear your schedule at the appropriate times.' Dumbledore said smiling at him proudly. Harry was over whelmed with all that was going on at the moment. He never expected something like this to happen when he came to his lesson today, hell he never expected this at all.

'I'll do it!' Harry said grinning.

'Excellent, if you could come by for practice on Thursday then we can decide where you will be starting and get your contract sorted. Professor Dumbledore has already organised for someone to accompany you to the stadium.' Mr Broseley said.

'Thank you very much Mr Broseley sir.' Harry said with excitement bubbling all through his body. He couldn't keep a smile off his face he was so happy.

'No need for such formalities Harry, just call me Andrew or Drew' Drew said.

'Harry Remus Lupin will Meet you at the front entrance hall on Thursday after Dinner where you will portkey to the grounds.' Dumbledore said.

'If that is all you need to discuss Drew?' Dumbledore asked.

'That's everything thank you Professor. Harry I'll see you on Thursday. Good evening Professor, Harry' Drew said as he stepped back into the fire place and flewed back to his office at the national stadium.

'Congratulations are in order I think Harry.' Dumbledore said as he sat behind his desk.

'Thank you sir, and thank you for organising all of this.' Harry said to him, knowing the professor had a hand in the whole thing.

'I am merely looking out for my countries Quidditch team Harry' Dumbledore replied with a smile. 'Now onto tonight's session. I believe it would be a good idea to start with the fire mage transformation. Professor Snape has prepared the potion and all it needs now to complete is your blood.' Dumbledore told him getting straight to the point. He pulled a goblet of steaming potion from his desk drawer and took off the charm that prevented it from spilling and handed it to Harry.

'It might be a good idea if you moved to that corner of the office set aside in case the transformation involves any fire, which I think it may well do.' The headmaster said as Harry cut a little pin hole in his finger and dripped the blood into the potion. Harry got up from his seat and moved to the corner of the room. Taking one last look to the professor Harry gulped the potion in one mouthful and swallowed. Unlike the animagus potion Harry had prepared this one did not taste at all nice or even close to tasteful. Harry suspected Snape added ingredients to make it taste worse than it actually was but he didn't have time to mull things over as the potion began to work its magic. Harry could feel it running though his veins, he could feel it moulding and shaping some o his magical core, he could feel the fire inside of him begin to ignite and in one explosion Harry's entire body was engulfed in flames. At first it was one of the most painful things he had experienced in his life but the pain quickly dulled and then vanished leaving a warmth and calmness within himself. A few seconds later and the fire vanished and Harry was left gasping as his body readjusted to the new magic within him.

'Harry, are you okay?' Dumbledore asked as he approached Harry.

'I'll be fine in a moment or two' Harry said as he let the professor guide him to a chair.

'I would say that was a success, wouldn't you?' Dumbledore asked remarked.

'A painful one I would say. What happens now?' Harry asked him.

'Well I don't have any experience with elemental training, I dare say you know more about it than me, so we shall follow what the book says. Now what about this computer that you asked me about yesterday?' Dumbledore said. Harry got the laptop out of his bag, he had taken to carrying it around where ever he went due to the nature of the information held on it. He couldn't very well have Hermione finding it and then going through all of his stuff. Once everything was loaded Harry swivelled the computer around to face Dumbledore and then moved around the desk and began showing him what was on it and how things worked. After about 2 hours Dumbledore seemed to have grasped the concept of everything and had a basic understanding of what Harry knew.

'This is all very impressive Harry, you seemed to have surpassed my expectations of what you would find for yourself. I think now we shall divide the schedule up to specific subjects and then work on your elemental training until it is time for you to retire to your dormitory. Every evening we shall work on elemental training, every free period you have we shall work on advanced spells that are not taught here for the first half of the week and the second we shall work on wandless magic. When you begin to get more powerful with wandless magic when you learn a spell you shall first learn it without your wand. At the weekends we shall work on anything you feel we should after 2 hours of Occulmency. How does that sound to you?' the headmaster said.

'That sounds fine sir, but what about homework?' Harry asked him a little worried now that he wouldn't have the time for it.

'You shall bring it here with you and I will help you with it and teach you a little more on the subject before the lessons with me begin. As the year progresses I will teach you other subjects and you will no longer need to have a large amount of time to do your homework.' The professor said.

'In that case I think the timetable is perfect. I have another question. Can you do wandless magic?' Harry asked

'Yes I can, however not as in depth as you will be able to do, I acquired the ability a different way and as a result it limits what I can do, but the concept and theory behind using it is the same so we should have no trouble there. And yes before you ask Tom Riddle also has the same ability as me but his is a little more powerful.' Dumbledore answered him.

They spent the rest of the night working with candles; Harry would create a flam in his hand and then send it from candle to candle. It had taken a while for Harry to find how to conjure up the flame and when he did his whole body was ignited but after several more attempts he had got the flame in his hand as requested with the help of Dumbledore. Despite not being an elemental himself the old man seemed to understand the process better than Harry had thought. Moving the flame was very easy, he just had to guide it and manipulate it with his mind. Once he had achieved his goal Harry wrote some notes up on his laptop while Dumbledore wrote them up the old fashioned way as Harry called it and then they bid each other good night.

Instead of going straight to the dorm however Harry found an empty classroom and then took out his laptop and located the research he had been doing for his senses. Unfortunately the charms would take up to a week to work for some of them, but he didn't mind. The first spell he used was one to correct his vision, the wand movements for the spell were extremely complicated and Harry had to use a reversed 'protego' spell he had created for the process. Harry point his wand up and moved it in the pattern for the 'protego' spell but did them backwards resulting in a backwards spell that rebounded any magic Harry sent towards it. Next Harry chanted '_Absens_ ab Atella caesius_' whilst weaving magic with his wand as directed and then shot the spell at the shield charm which rebounded at Harry. His sight left him for a brief few moments in which Harry began to panic but when it came back the world was blurry._

'Have I don't something wrong? I couldn't have. Maybe the shield charm did something? What is it…' Harry babbled to himself until he realised what it was. He was still wearing his glasses. Feeling very stupid with himself Harry took them off and then looked around the room. He had perfect sight, even better than perfect. Harry gave himself a mental pat on the back for his good work and then began reading up on the sense heightening spells. He had decided to leave taste because he didn't really think that would come in useful at all. Picking up his wand again Harry began weaving the magic as he chanted _'Absens meliuscule' and again the spell rebounded onto himself and he could feel again his magic being altered slightly. He tried it out and willed his eyes to see in the dark and they did, perfectly. Feeling more confident Harry weaved the magic for each of the other spells and chanted off '_Adoleo___ cessi', 'Accipio amplus' and __'Ceptum ferum' for his sense of smell, hearing and feeling. Each spell worked perfectly and when Harry willed the senses to be heightened they were. The final task was the magical sight. The book told him that he would feel a tingling around his eyes for about a day before he would be able to use it. Harry took out of his back the equipment he would need for this transformation. Two candles (which he lit with his elemental fire) placed in front of him so he had one eye on each, some black chalk which he used to draw some symbols on the floor (he had no idea what they meant) and then sat in the centre facing the candles. He sat and stared at them until his mind was empty and he was seeing nothing but the candles. Then he began to chant '_Absens___ magicus abtellus' over and over. He didn't need a wand for this form of magic due to the symbols on the ground. He only had to do the transformation in a place of high magic concentration so it could draw the magic to Harry and perform the necessary transformations. After a few minutes of chanting his eyes again stopped seeing, but instead of everything going black it went white. This lasted longer than the sight correction spell but Harry kept on chanting as the notes he took on the spell had mentioned that this would happen and that the person would have to keep chanting. A few more minutes passed in total blindness and then in a climax of magical energy his sight returned and his face began to tingle. Harry got up from his sitting position and collected the fire to him and dismissed it into nothing, then he put the candles back into his bag and was about to rub out the black chalk when he noticed it was already gone. Shrugging his shoulders Harry walked over to his laptop and began typing up the notes on the spells he had used and what had happened. Satisfied with the way things went Harry packed the rest of his things away and then willed himself to see in the dark and left the room. It wasn't long before he made his way back to Gryffindor Tower and was surprised to see Neville was still awake._

'What are you still doing up Nev?' Harry asked him as he sat down on the chair next to Neville's.

'You said you would show me that… well that what ever it is today. I tried getting to sleep but I was really curious and… are you okay?' Neville started saying and then trailed off and asked when he noticed Harry kept rubbing his eyes. He then noticed for the first time that Harry wasn't wearing his glasses.

'I'm fine, I just urm… I just used a spell to fix my eyes and its left them a little itchy.' Harry lied smoothly. In truth the tingly feeling was itching but also he had forgot to remove the enhanced sight and when he opened the portrait hole his eyes began to sting from all of the light. 'Now anyway, the laptop…' Harry started saying as he pulled it out of his bag. He spent the best part of an hour explaining to Neville what it could do, how it did it and what he could use it for. Neville seemed really interested in it for some reason but Harry didn't know why. He guessed it might have something to do with all of the mistakes that he made when using parchment and ink. After he had finished explaining about the laptop they both went up to their dorm and Neville settled in for sleep but Harry still had a few more hours left before he would need sleep got out his books and carried on research and practicing spells whilst listening to the cd he had made himself once he figured out how to do it.

The next morning was spent the same way as the previous, ignoring Ron and Hermione's overloud comments and everyone else's dirty looks. It was just before he was going to leave for breakfast that Ron stood up and made an announcement.

'Everyone interested in trying out for the Quidditch team should meet after dinner tonight at the pitch. The positions available are all of the chaser slots and the beater as only myself and my sister are left on the team as keeper and Seeker. Thank you.' Harry knew that Ron was trying to make him pissed off but it wasn't working because Harry had more than the Gryffindor team now so he just smiled at Ron and left for breakfast, during which Ginny apologised to him saying she didn't know Ron was going to do that, but Harry just told her he was happy with the way things worked out and that she would know why sooner or later. She also asked him about the lack of his glasses and he explained he had done a spell on his eyes last night.

The first lesson after breakfast was potions and Harry was happy to see that Ron wasn't there, but was unhappy to see Hermione was and even worse, Malfoy. When Snape entered the first thing he noticed were Harry and Hermione sitting as far away from each other as possible.

'Well well well, the famous Harry potter has lost his fan club, maybe now, however doubtful it is, you might start to produce some quality potions' he sneered before starting the lesson on advanced poisons. Luckily it was only a theory lesson so Snape didn't have too much to use against Harry. After potions Harry had a session with Dumbledore working on advanced spells which he was looking forward. The first half of the lesson Dumbledore outlined the spells that he would teach, their uses in a duel or their overall usefulness and other information which Harry took notes on with his laptop. The second half of the lesson was spent trying to master the first spell. It was one that was similar to what Dumbledore had used on the statue at the ministry at the end of last year. He had to make an inanimate object animated and controlled. It was harder than Harry thought it would be and took a lot of focus to get right, but by the end of the lesson he was beginning to get the hang of it.

'You are doing very well Harry, you seem to pick things up a lot quicker than a normal person, I'm not sure if it is your magic's doing or something you have done to yourself but if we keep this level of work up you should become a very accomplished dueller and I should think compare to many of the top aurors at the ministry.' Dumbledore had commented. Harry left the session feeling a little tired but fully happy with himself. The rest of the day after that however seemed to go down hill. At dinner Harry noticed half of the Gryffindors were missing and was about to go and see why when they all came in and headed straight for him. As expected Ron and Hermione were leading the mob of students and they were carrying some books, his books.

'What do you think you're doing with my books?' Harry asked when they arrived at his place at the table. By now they had drawn the attention of all of the other students in the hall and even the professors.

'Looks like you forgot to tidy up after yourself last night, after you finished your studies on the dark arts!' Hermione said.

'So what?' Harry asked and then realised what he had just said as he damned his blind rage.

'So you have been studying the dark arts, I bet you've teamed up with You-know-who. You lead us all to the ministry to die that night didn't you only we were better at defending ourselves than you thought. You lead Sirius to his death. Your no better than you-know-who himself, Death Eater!' Ron said. His statement drew a lot of gasps from the audience but Harry didn't care his anger was urging him to do something to Ron and eventually Harry gave up fighting it. Before Ron knew what was happening Harry had jumped at him and pulled him to the floor. He sat on top of Ron and started swinging at his face. The first shot succeeded in breaking his nose with a very audible crack. The second split his lip and the third made his eye begin to swell up. Harry was about to swing at him again, ignoring the shouts of the professors when a sudden rush went through his head and the tingling around his eyes stopped. Harry looked around the room in confusion for a second before he realised what was happening, the spell he cast last night was kicking in and his rage must have activated it. Testing his theory Harry looked up at the ceiling and he could see the spells used to enchant it, he couldn't make out what they were but could see swirls of colours around it and on it. The break in blows to Ron was all he need to gain the upper hand on Harry and he was just about to swing for him when Harry looked back at him and he stopped himself and gasped. Harry's eyes were completely emerald green and had a slight glow to them. At the same time Ron gasped Harry gasped as well. Looking at Ron now he could see a black cloud of magic clouding his head. He looked up and found Hermione and she had the same black cloud around her head. Hermione also gasped when she saw Harry's eyes as well as most of the crowd gathered. Before Harry could do anything about it however he felt someone tugging him up and twirl him around to face them.

'What is the meaning of this barbaric behaviour Potter, this is…' Snape began with a disgusted look on his face until Harry looked up from Snape's arm where the dark mark was to his face.

'What is wrong with your eyes Potter' he asked.

'I need to speak to professor Dumbledore' was all Harry said.

'Bring him to my office please Severus and also Mr Weasley and Ms Granger. I believe all three of them have some explaining to do.

When they all arrived in the office Snape began his tirade about the disgraceful behaviour and lack of respect for school rules and how Harry should be expelled. He only stopped when Dumbledore raised his voice.

'Please Severus I would like to hear what Harry has to say for himself and also Mr Weasley and Ms Granger, now Harry please explain about you eyes.'

'Well last night after your lesson sir I sort of tried out a few spells, I corrected my vision and performed a spell to enhance my senses at will, after that I did a spell that allowed me to see magic enchantments and just general wild magic at will. The spell didn't kick in until just now.' Harry told him.

'You see headmaster, he was told to go straight to his dorm but he decided to perform unautherized spells on himself.' Snape said trying to sway the headmaster.

'Severus if I hear another word about this before the end of this discussion I will have to ask you to leave, is that clear?' Dumbledore said using his teachers voice. Harry found it amusing that Snape was being told off and actually acted like a student.

'Harry tell me how you performed the spell on yourself without the use of a magical reflecting mirror?' Dumbledore asked, truly intrigued with Harry's methods.

'Well sir I performed a shield charm backwards and shot the spell at it, and it rebounded onto me.' Harry said.

'Ingenious, very clever indeed.' Was all Dumbledore said, but Ron muttered 'Suck up' under his breath. Obviously Dumbledore heard as he then looked at Ron and said. 'Now you two, please tell me why you have been going through a students belongings and have been spreading false information about Harry.' Dumbledore asked in a more serious tone.

'It's not false, he is a dark wizard, if not a death eater and he tried to lead us all to our deaths, the type of books he has says it all' Hermione said but before Dumbledore could comment Harry butted in.

'Actually professor I could tell you the real reason.' Harry began but was interrupted by Ron.

'He's just going to try and worm his way out of trouble like he always does pro…' Ron whined but was silenced when Dumbledore looked at him sternly and then said in a very powerful voice 'Silence'

'As I was saying professor I know why they have been acting so differently towards me, you see when I was… attacking Ron my sight changed as you know, I looked to the enchanted ceiling to see if it was the spell I used and when I looked to Ron he had a black cloud of magic around his head and also Hermione did. When professor Snape grabbed me he had a cloud of black magic around his arm where the mark is, so I think Ron and Hermione are under the imperius curse.' Harry explained to them. As he finished understanding was shown on Dumbledore's face, but confusion on Snape's.

'Why would the dark lord want those two under the imperius curse, and more to the point why would he only make them be horrible to you Potter?' Snape asked. It was Dumbledore who answered. 'Because if they were to be horrible to Harry at a time where he is very vulnerable from the death of his god-father then he would become an emotional mess and it would make things easier for Voldemort to poses him. His plan didn't work out because he didn't plan on Ms Weasley or Mr Longbottom to show their support.' He said then turned to Ron and Hermione and muttered under his breath a few choice words and immediately their faces softened and Hermione began crying. 

'What happened?' Ron asked, looking around at all the people in the room and then added 'And why does my face bloody hurt like hell?'

*********************************************************************

A/N: well that's it for another chapter. You now know the truth behind Ron and Hermione and you all got to see some Ron bashing :D thanks for reviewing all you guys  (_athenakitty__, Silnar, rhinemjr, tenshi26, nefertiri riddle, lassy, ariana Dumbledore, linky2, MaidenMasherV, phoenix friend, lonkire) who has reviewed! I never expected all of the reviews but its great motivation so give your selves a good pat on the back because this story is being inspired by you all!!!_

I would like to say a special well done to Silnar who guessed the reason correctly for Ron and Hermione being such prats.

To Nefertiri Riddle, you obviously have very good taste, they are my favourite couple too and I hope that J K will get them together. 

Lassy hope the Ron bashing was satisfactory for you and the idea about the swimming was great, all though it will be a few chapters yet as most people hate Harry at the moment for being a dark wizard and murderer.

Next chapter: Tryouts begin! And Snape

Until next time.

                   GG


	8. Tryouts begin! And Snape

Harry Potter and the Rising War

***

Chapter Eight: Tryouts begin! And Snape

'So your telling me that Hermione remembers most of what she was saying and doing because she didn't want to do most of it, but Ron doesn't because the feeling was there for the imperius to feed off of?' Harry asked the headmaster that evening during one of their classes.

'I suspect Mr Weasley had feelings of the sort against you, but not to the extent to which were displayed. He may have been jealous of your fame and the newspaper article among other things. But that is the basic idea, yes' Dumbledore confirmed.

'I see…' Harry said trailing off as he starting thinking over the past couple of times he and Ron and Hermione had been together. If he hadn't have been so blinded by his rage he would have figured it out with out the aid of the magic sight spell. The fact that Ron felt partly as he acted he couldn't ignore, but nor could he ignore the fact that he himself had retaliated with violence when he should have had it figured out.

'Harry there is no use in brooding over things. We both know that most people aspire to have what they do not, you for instance crave a loving family, Mr Weasley, fame and money and Ms Granger wants knowledge. Please don't be too hard on them.' Dumbledore said.

'Well I'm not about to hug them and welcome them back straight away, whether or not they meant it, it still hurt and they both at least had to feel some anger towards me for the curse to be as strong, I know for a fact that if it were any other thing, like say wear a pink dress, then Hermione would have fought it off and Ron would at least have put up resistance.' Harry replied, then he got up and said 'Any way I think we are here for a lesson'.

They spent the rest of the allotted time practicing on techniques Harry could use to better control the fire, and willing the size of it to change. When they were nearing the end of the lesson however Dumbledore called it to an end and Harry seated himself across from Dumbledore.

'Excellent Harry your progress is exceptional; I predict you will have a complete mastery of the ability towards the end of the school year or beginning of next. Now onto other business, as you know things have been pretty quiet with Voldemort so there has not been much to report from the order, but I will update you on what we know so far. It appears that Riddle is having trouble learning necromancy which is excellent news for us, but it will be only a matter of time until he rectifies this. As for his apprentice, Malfoy jnr voldemort is merely teaching him the dark arts, we believe this is so that he has a foundation knowledge for when the time comes that voldemort will begin training him as more than a death eater. It is suspected that he will become a threat when voldemort puts him through more transformations, apparently he has already increased Malfoy's magic level to about the same amount as you had when I came to explain about your transformation. There is no way to convict or apprehend Malfoy as he has legitimate reasons for his comings and goings. I think that is everything. Now I believe it is time for you to be heading off to bed, or at least to your common room.' Dumbledore said as he lifted himself from the seat. Harry bid the headmaster good night and then set off towards the common room. Half way there however Harry decoded to take a detour and go to the library. When he entered the corridor the library was accessed by he turned himself invisible and went in. Harry spent a few minutes searching through the shelves for any interesting books and came upon a book on experimental body transformational techniques and took it.

When he got back to the common room Harry began looking through the book. It at first seemed to be boring but as he got further on it started to deal with other things that took his interest, like duel animagi and theories about how it is possible and how to go about it. Apparently many had tried and failed to become one only achieving their first form with a slight alteration like longer legs, or no legs at all. Harry spent most of the night researching and comparing with other books on theories and creating some of his own, even going as far as thinking up some spells that might aid him in achieving this goal. It was nearly 3 am when Harry stumbled into bed and entered his magic which he was immediately grateful for the effect it had on him.

The next day there was an article in the newspaper about him, much to his annoyance. It read:

**_Boy-Who-Lived, Boy-Who-Betrayed?_****__**

**_It came to this reporters attention yesterday evening that the boy-who-lived Harry Potter has admitted to studying the dark arts. It is also rumoured that Harry Potter was also responsible for a death recently, all though details are sketchy we know that the so called hero of the wizarding world may have sided with you-know-who from as early as last year when he lead some of his fellow students to the ministry of magic to battle death-eaters. This reported asks the question 'did Potter attempt to lead them to their deaths?' minister of magic, Cornelius Fudge had this to say about the matter. 'Potter has always been in the spotlight, I expect that this is merely nothing more than an attempt at doing so. There is no way that he is a dark wizard, however I am not denying the fact that he is not dangerous' so does this mean that Potter is an up and coming dark lord? Or is he just a mentally unstable boy? You decide._**

'bloody brilliant! Hey Ron, you wanted to be in the paper, now you have it. Congratulations I hope it was worth it!' Harry shouted at him and chucked the paper at his head.

 The rest of the day and the morning after that seemed to pass quickly and Harry got by without having to talk too much with Ron and Hermione or put the spot light on himself. Apparently Ron and Hermione spent much of the rest of the night trying to convince the school that what they said wasn't true, but the damage had been done and quite a large number remained believing the lies so Harry now resolved to keep his head down and stay out of the spot light.

When the time finally came for Harry to go to the national stadium he had not only butterflies in his stomach but also anything else that could fly.

'You nervous about today?' Remus had asked. The only reply he got was a disbelieving star from Harry.

'Of course stupid me, well lets get going then, hold onto this and brace yourself.' Remus told him after handing him a bent and muddy spoon. A few seconds after touching it Harry felt the all too familiar pull of a port key and scrunched his eyes up as he felt the ground disappear and only opened them again when it reappeared. 

Harry looked around his surroundings and saw that he was in an office, a fairly messy office with papers scattered all over the place and various pictures lining the wall of past teams by the looks of them. Just then Drew walked in and took a seat behind his desk after greeting Harry and Remus. 'Practice will begin in a few minutes but I wanted to give you your uniform first and the broom you will be riding. Its a broom designed specifically for seekers, its called the lightning bolt excel, you will have to tell me what wand you have for us to find the right broom.'

'Why is that?' Remus asked interested

'The new series relies not only on the magic enchantments of the broom but of the user also so it can be used better to the riders needs. This means that the broom is made somewhat like a wand in terms of a core, for example mine would have been a dragon heart string if I was using a similar broom for beaters.' Drew explained.

'Okay then, well my core is phoenix feather' Harry said. Drew nodded his head and walked off into a room to the side of his desk and came out a few minutes latter carrying a broom that looked similar to his firebolt but had subtle differences like the size of it, the overall shape and the feel.

'If you will follow me I will show you to the changing rooms and the we can begin' Drew said as he handed the broom to Harry and then they left the office. It didn't take long for them to get to the changing rooms and for Harry to be introduced to the team.

'These two are the first team beaters, Nigel and Pete, those three are the first team chasers, Sam, Nick and Sandra and this is the first team seeker Jonathan and keeper Steve E. Over there are the second team beaters Charlie and Cassie, chasers over there are Shelly, Kristy and Kelly and keeper Steve G. Every one this is Harry' Drew introduced. Once all of the introductions were over with Harry got changed and they all went out to the field. To say that Harry was overwhelmed was an understatement; the pitch was about the same size as Hogwarts' but the stands all around it were like nothing Harry had ever seen before, not even for any of the tasks for the Tri-wizard tournament.

'Don't worry about the stands Harry, once you're in the air you'll forget that they're even there' Jonathan said as he noticed the look on Harry's face. Harry just nodded dumbly and turned to the coach who was introduced as Mr Stokes.

'Okay everyone listen up, you all know the drill today, we have a new member of the team and if he shows us he is good enough then he will be playing first team. Now before we get into a game I want some laps, now go!' he commanded. Harry could tell he had been doing his job for a long time by the way he was at ease with commanding the team. Harry mounted his broom and was off into the air quicker than he had ever been. It took a few moments for him to adjust to the broom but soon enough he knew how it worked and felt completely at ease with it. E tried putting on a bust of speed to see if it would draw from his magic too much, luckily it didn't so he wouldn't have an unfair advantage, but that didn't mean that he went slow on the broom, it was the opposite, he was flying faster than he even imagined possible. Once all of the team landed they sorted themselves into first and second team with second team wearing bibs and got into a game. For the first few minutes of the game Harry just observed how the individual teams worked together and how Jonathan did his job as seeker. Once he got the gist of how things worked within the teams Harry began taking a bigger role in the game, he was taking out plays of the other team and blocking the beaters view, whilst all of the time looking out for the snitch. It was about 20 minutes into the game when he saw Jonathan go into a dive so Harry naturally followed expecting that he had seen the snitch, but when he saw Jonathan look back at him Harry pulled out of the dive, he hadn't seen the snitch and when Jonathan looked back Harry knew that he hadn't either because it was too risky taking your eyes off it for even a second. It was lucky however that Harry did pull out of the dive when he did because he saw the snitch at the other end of the pitch near his keeper so Harry sped off after unfortunately the first team had seen what he was going to do and flew in front of him leaving only a small enough gap for his broom to get through and not enough room for him to move to his left or right or fly above or below them so thinking quickly Harry aimed his broom for the small gap and at the last possible moment he stood on his broom and jumped over the wall the other team had put up and landed back on his broom which had just started to slow down. Once he was securely back on his broom Harry put on an extra burst of speed and flew straight for the left hand hoop where the snitch now was but as he approached he saw Pete on the other side just about to receive a bludger and send it back towards Harry who just kept heading for the snitch. When Harry was just about a meter away from it the bludger was sent his way and would get there just after he caught the snitch. Harry reached out of the air and caught the snitch but at the sae time he tightened his legs around the broom and reached up with his left hand and grabbed the hoop which resulted in pulling Harry and his broom up in an arc. When Harry was sure he was out of danger he let go of the hoop and twisted himself so he was upright again. He did it, he caught the snitch Harry caught the snitch before Jonathan. Landing quickly so he didn't fall off his broom from excitement Harry ran over to where Mr Stokes, Drew and Remus were standing grinning like a maniac.

'I did it, I caught it!' Harry breathed out.

'Never mind that, that's some of the best flying I've seen since Charlie Weasley!' Drew said, and then Mr Stokes said 'Very well done, this is the sort of thing that the team needs, I think we might well have the English answer to Viktor Krum' and shook Harry's hand, by this time the rest of the team had joined them all.

'That was some awesome flying Harry, you have real talent' Kristy said

'I thought you were going to hurtle straight into us when we blocked you, that was one of the gutsiest moves I've ever seen done, who taught it to you?' Nick asked

'No one, it's the first time I done it, I thought of it while I was heading for you guys.' Harry said. The team couldn't believe that Harry had so much skill and was such a quick thinker but Remus assured them that he had never seen such moves from Harry when he saw him play for the school. Jonathan walked up to Harry on the way back into the changing rooms and shook his hand, congratulating him on a superb job. Harry was relieved that there was no hard feelings about it all. 

When they were all showered and changed Harry was escorted to Mr Stokes' office by Drew who discussing plays with Harry. When they got there Drew told him he would see Harry at the next practice and walked back down the corridor so Harry turned to the door in front of him an knocked, when Mr Stokes said 'enter' Harry opened the door and walked in. he was a little surprised to see Remus already there but didn't show it. He seated himself in the chair next to Remus when Mr Stokes offered.

'That was an excellent show today Harry and I would say that you have more than proven yourself worthy of the first team. Now we're here to discuss your contract and all of the other things that come with being a Quidditch star.' Mr Stokes began. The meeting lasted for an hour before they had the contract signed and merchandise sorted. Harry didn't mind any of it except for the newspaper interviews he had to give, not after every game, but certainly after every other game. Mr Stokes had said that he could refuse to answer any questions that he didn't feel comfortable with which made Harry feel a little better about it all. 

Once they were back at Hogwarts Harry headed straight up to the Gryffindor tower to listen to some music and do more research and homework, all though it was still before dinner Harry still had the evening lesson off to relax but instead he was going to practice his animagi transformation.

'Where have you been all afternoon?' Ginny asked when Harry came through the portrait hole. Ron and Hermione were also listening but pretending not to but Harry still noticed it. He simply replied 'You'll find out tomorrow I expect.' And headed up to his dorm. He spent the rest of the afternoon listening to Linkin Park and Greenday while doing more experimentation with new spells and the dual animagi transformation.

The next few weeks passed by in relative normalcy for Harry, as he expected the day after his first practice there was a headline in the Daily Prophet about England's new star seeker (apparently the paper had changed its opinion on Harry again after Dumbledore sent them a letter notifying them about the situation). The school was split between hounding Harry and resentment and Harry was sure Ron fell into the latter group but he didn't mind, he would expect Ron to want what Harry had and didn't hold it against him. He still had yet to make up with both him and Hermione but he still didn't feel that they deserved it yet. In his lessons with Dumbledore he was progressing extremely quickly. He was learning new spells the fastest, usually he would learn up to 4 new spells a session providing they weren't very draining or hard to complete. The Occulmency lessons were going well also, with Harry's new ability to spend time in his magical core he was able to put up blocks easier because he was at peace and without emotions. On the weekend lessons that weren't spent doing Occulmency he was working on apparation which Harry seemed to have no trouble at all with. Dumbledore was so impressed with Harry's progress that he taught Harry how to make his aura appear and how to control it. This it seemed was more of a challenge for Harry because each time he pulled his aura around his body it would attack anything that was near it. He eventually got it under control and found that he could tell it what to attack and control how badly to attack it. The wandless magic was beginning to come along now, he could summon his wand back to him and cast a weak stupefy spell or similar spells which was a big step up from a small lumos spell at the beginning of the term. The elemental training was also coming along very well now and he was able to create rings of fire and walls and also shoot streams of fire from his palms. The animagi transformation was now complete also and Harry was doing a study on it with the help of Dumbledore to see if he could manipulate his magic to give himself another form. Things were going so well Harry felt stupid for not expecting something to go wrong when it finally did. It was during a duelling class when he was picked to duel with Ron by Snape. This wouldn't have been a problem if Harry still didn't get angered every time he looked at Ron or Hermione s when the duel began he blocked all of Ron's attempted curses easily and then conjured up a small stick, then he transfigured the stick into a wooden centaur which he commanded to attack Ron and disarm him. Unfortunately they centaur could feel Harry's anger towards Ron so when it attacked Ron came out with a broken arm and another broken nose. Harry quickly banished the centaur and helped Ron up apologising to him and explained what had happened. Ron seemed to understand and just waved it off with his good arm, unfortunately Snape didn't understand though.

'Potter what did you think you were doing?' Snape shouted at him.

'I'm sorry professor but the centaur got out of control and…' Harry began trying to explain that he didn't specifically tell it to hurt Ron.

'I don't want to hear it Potter, you aren't going to worm yourself out of this one. Your arrogance overwhelms me. You think that I care what your excuse is that you purposefully injured a fellow student?' Snape sneered

'But…' Harry began but again he was cut off.

'Don't talk back to me Potter. Goodness knows what the headmaster sees in you to hold you in such high esteem, all I see is a spoilt, arrogant brat. Just like your father and your good for nothing godfather!' he shouted at Harry

'You will not talk about my parents or godfather!' Harry snapped at Snape

'What was that Potter? Telling me what I will and will not do? I don't think so. But I _will tell _you_ something, you need to see the truth about your father and his pathetic friend, see how they were big headed attention seeking arrogant little spoilt children, just like you!' Snape said, he didn't seem to notice Harry trembling with anger, but the students did and they could feel the energy radiating off Harry who luckily had controlled his magic at emotional times. The students all moved away from Harry as a collective group. Not even bothering to argue the point with Snape Harry began running toward Snape who didn't seem to comprehend what was happening until Harry leapt at him, but instead of Harry landing on Snape there was a massive lion standing on top of him with its teeth bared and his claws out on his right paw that was only an inch or so away from Snape's throat. Harry saw the fear on his professor's face and roared in a fierce way which seemed to make the look on his face even more comical than what it was already. It was then that Dumbledore walked into the room and broke the two up._

'What is going on in here?!? Harry get of your professor and go to my office immediately, and you too Severus, my office now. The rest of you are dismissed. Now go!' Dumbledore said in a raised, and angry, voice.

'Now explain what was going on just now!' Dumbledore said once they were all collected in their office.

'Potter attacked me' Snape said

'Why did you attack Professor Snape Harry?' Dumbledore asked, his voice not softening a single bit.

'He was insulting me and my family just because I made a small mistake when I was in a duel with Ron.' Harry explained.

'Severus what do you have to say for yourself?' Dumbledore asked him as he once again settled his piercing blue eyes on him.

'The small mistake was one that put Weasley in the hospital wing with a broken arm and nose. It was Potter's blind arrogance that caused all of this. He thought he could handle a spell that was far beyond him.' Snape said.

'What spell?' Dumbledore asked

'I conjured up a wooden centaur and sent it to attack Ron and disarm him, only my emotions caused the attack to be more brutal than what it should be.' Harry told the headmaster.

'I see. well I think it would do you both good to apologise to each other and to have some time apart. Harry you shall be tutored in potions by me and you will be withdrawn from the duelling lesson.' Dumbledore told them both.

'Well go on then, you are both here so I think there is no better time for an apology than now!' he prompted them.

'I'm sorry' they both muttered at the same time.

'I can see that I will not get anything better from you both so that will have to do. Severus if there is anything else then you are dismissed.' Said the headmaster. When Snape had left the room Dumbledore began to lecture Harry on his emotions and when to hold them back. After h was finished with his lecture they began their regular lesson with the fire elemental ability. Toward the end Dumbledore asked Harry to sit with him again.

'You do realise Harry that now you will have to register with the ministry that you are an animagus?' Dumbledore asked him.

'Yes sir, but it doesn't matter anyway, riddle knew about me learning when I attacked Wormtail with my paws.' Harry told him

'Yes quite right. Well onto another topic, I think you have control enough over your element to carry on practicing on your own. The evening lessons from now on will be spent on anything I see fit from duelling to tactics to history. Your real apprentice training will begin and I shall try and incorporate your research into it. If we make any real progress with it I should like to try some of the more useful transformations and spells. Is that okay with you?' Dumbledore asked him.

'Yes professor that is fine. Thank you for all of your help.' Harry said getting up, knowing that the lesson and discussion was over with. He spent the rest of the night researching more about the animagi and his magical core, including the relationship between the two.

It appeared that news of what happened had travelled quickly over the school by the next morning and Harry got many congratulations from people he didn't even know. It looked like the students were beginning to warm to him again, until that is the next thing that is said bad about him reaches their ears, but he didn't care anymore what they said. It was during breakfast the next morning when Cho Chang came up to Harry.

'Hey Harry, I heard what happened yesterday. I didn't know you were an animagus?' she said to him.

'Hello Cho and yes I have been for about a week now. Is there something you want?' Harry said to her not even bothering to sound polite.

'Well I thought you might want to give us another go?' she said confidently. Harry suppressed the urge to laugh in her face and said 'Sorry Cho but I don't think were good together' 

'What do you mean? Are you saying no to me?' she asked incredulously

'That's exactly what I'm saying to you.' Harry confirmed.

'But no one says no to me, I mean why would they?' she asked him. She seemed stunned at the revelation that someone said no to going out with her.

'Because we don't have anything in common except Quidditch and I know nothing about you and you only want me because I am an international Quidditch star and the boy-who-lived. Now please can I finish my breakfast?' Harry said to her. She seemed so shocked that she just turned away and stalked off without saying anything. Most of the guys around Harry were shocked and the girls were laughing.

'I wouldn't have believed that had happened if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes!' Ron said to Harry. Not wanting to or having the energy to stay mad at any of them anymore Harry gave in, smiled and said. 'Well someone had to do it sooner or later'

'So does this mean we're talking again?' Hermione asked hopefully.

'Yeah it does, life is too short to hold a grudge.' 

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          A/N: there it is, another chapter done. Sorry if the quality isn't as great as usual but it isn't so easy for me to write Quidditch games. Thanks for all the great reviews keep reading and hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Thanks to (Hermionegreen, Tsaui: I hope this makes the whole cop-out imperius curse thing more bearable. Athenakitty, Lassy: you asked for more Ron bashin and you got more (however little), ocpawnmaster1: thanks for the great review, im glad you think its believable and enjoying the story so far. Nefertiri Riddle: thank you for the complement :D I didn't think the chapter was as good as it could have been, but im happy you thought it was so good:D Slimpun: sorry you were disappointed with the turn out but I like to keep this as close to the books as possible while not having Harry as such a wuss:D and about the Harry/Ginny thing, sorry but im a major major Harry Ginny shipper, so much so that I tend not to read any other stories with other ships :S (I know I should but there you go) TuxedoMac: thank you for the review, its one of my favourites now =D I was going to get rid of the trio permenantly but I changed my mind when I started writing, it just wouldn't be Harry potter without Ron and Hermione. Thanks for the review Potter Reader and Rhinmjr. MaidenMasherV: I may have more jealous Ron later or but for now I think ill have the golden trio. As for Draco being good or evil I think evil, its more in his character, however I believe J K Rowling will just have Malfoy as the school bully, nothing more. Thanks for all the reviews guys I appreciate it a lot!!!

Until next time.

                   GG


	9. The Coma

Harry Potter and the Rising War

***

Chapter Nine: The Coma

The next few weeks went by fairly quickly, Harry's magical skills were growing greater by the day and he was learning at an 'exponential rate' as Dumbledore had told him at one point. He was no longer having lessons for his wandless magic or his elemental magic or Occulmency which left a lot of time open for Harry to begin his proper apprenticeship with Dumbledore, every day he was learning more and more about magic that he hadn't even thought existed. Dumbledore's reasoning behind Harry's ability to learn at such a startlingly fast rate was because of Harry's ignorance to what was possible and what wasn't. He didn't concern himself with rules and boundaries; he just went straight ahead and did what needed to be done. He had said that there weren't many people like him because they all concerned themselves with the rules of magic, especially Hermione. Harry's repertoire of spells was exceedingly large in his database now and he was progressing with wandless magic efficiently, thought Dumbledore told him it would take a lot of time for the body to build up the strength to push the magic around when Harry needed it. He could now do all of the first year magic at a normal standard (which was far below normal for a sorcerer with a wand) and he had most basic duelling curses under his belt too but again not as powerful as they could be with practice.

Harry's relationship with his friends was back on the right track, they were talking again and sharing jokes and helping each other with class work but he still hadn't told them about being a sorcerer or Dumbledore's apprentice, only that he was receiving private Occulmency lessons with the headmaster. He didn't feel that he could just go and blurt out all of his secrets straight away, Ron and Hermione would have to earn his trust back.

 It was coming to the end of October and Harry was getting more exhausted by the day, Quidditch practice had been stepped up because they had a match against Australia to qualify for the world cup, the wizarding world held it every two years as opposed to the muggles every four years for football.

'Aren't you nervous about next month?' Ron asked the day before Halloween while they were eating their dinner.

'Not really, I mean I suppose I will be when I actually get there, but not at the moment.' Harry replied. 

'You're a nutter, mate!' was all Ron said. In truth Harry was a little nervous but he didn't want any one to know after all Australia was a strong team and it would take a lot of skilful flying and even more luck to pull off a win. All though the weeks of went by quickly it didn't mean that Harry had had no run ins with Malfoy and his goons, far from it, it seemed they took every chance they got to try and intimidate Harry or cause him to loose his temper and start a fight, Harry found this a little strange but just wrote it off as Malfoy thinking he could take Harry now that he was riddle's new lap dog but Harry was just ignoring him. However when Halloween came around Harry could ignore him no more, they were all in the great hall getting ready for the feast and Malfoy and his goons walked up to Harry as per usual these days to try and taunt him before Harry sat down.

'Hey Potter I'm surprised you're here, I would have thought you would have something special planned for today!' he said with his usual superior smirk on his face.

'What are you talking about this time Malfoy?' Harry said in a bored tone as he turned his back on the boy to sit down. Malfoy grabbed Harry by the shoulder and span him round and spat 'Don't turn your back on me Potter, and I meant that I would have thought you would be celebrating, oops and mean mourning your parents deaths!'

'Malfoy I am warning you now, don't ever say anything about my parents to me, ever!' Harry said in a dangerously low tone.

'What's the matter Potter? Still a sore point? Still afraid to admit that they were failures and that they abandoned you? Or are you mourning that mutt of godfather still?' Malfoy smirked seeing the reaction on Harry's face. Up at the teachers table Dumbledore was quietly observing what was going on, he had felt Harry's magical presence increase which confused him, something like that wasn't supposed to happen, the magic within a wizard only increases to its boundaries and stopped like Harry's had long before now but it seemed that Harry's had now increased dramatically and spilled over the 'walls' that held it in and was carrying on to increase.

'Hey potter, my aunt told me she enjoyed seeing the look on Blacks face when he fell through that arch. She said to thank you for giving her the opportunity to kill him.' Draco carried on. That was it; Dumbledore felt it a split second before it happened. Harry completely lost control over his magic and it unleashed itself. All the food on the tables imploded but none hit any student or professor, all the metal plates and cutlery were squashed paper thin and the tables themselves began to splinter and shatter and all the while Harry had a blank look on his face.

'Malfoy you tell Lestrange I'm coming to collect what's owed to me, her time is up!' he said in a monotone voice, betraying no emotions. Once he said his bit the magic subsided but Dumbledore could feel it was still there and if he was right he knew what was coming next so he stood up as quickly as possible.

'Harry restrain yourself now!' he shouted in a powerful voice. Harry glanced at the headmaster then back to Malfoy who was standing in shock as were the rest of the school seemingly sizing him up and deciding if he was worth it. Coming back to his senses Harry calmed himself down and pushed past Malfoy and left the great hall. As if his presence was the thing that had stunned every one once he left they all came back to their senses and excited chatter exploded from the students, and the teachers all looked to the headmaster for answers to see him sighing in relief.

'Headmaster could you please explain what is going on' Professor McGonagall asked him.

'I am afraid I cannot at this moment, Minerva. I myself am not quite sure of the happenings that occurred here today.' Dumbledore replied taking his seat once again and looking slightly older.

Back at the Gryffindor common room Harry was pacing the floor trying to think of something to do to let out his anger. He couldn't go for a swim it was too dark now, but he could go for a run, or even better, he could go for a run in his lion form. Deciding that was what he was going to do Harry made his way down to the entrance hall and exited it, sticking to the shadows as he went. Upon approaching the forest Harry transformed and ran in careful to remember the way he went. When he was satisfied he was far away enough from the school Harry shot his head back and reared on his back paws and let a blast of powerful roars echo around the forest startling a few of the birds. Feeling quite contempt now he had let his anger out Harry settled himself down and gazed at the stars thinking of all he had lost, but also all he had gained. He didn't notice when but at some point he was joined by Tronza and Fawks who were quite happy to just be in Harry's company. The time the three spent together seemed to crawl by which gave Harry plenty of time to asses his life and those of the people around him. He had decided he would come clean to Ron Hermione and Ginny about the whole truth. There was something about Malfoy's cockiness that Harry didn't like so he decided he would allow them access to his laptop to broaden their horizons so they are prepared in case something does happen to them.

It was the crack of dawn the next morning that Harry had decided that he should return, so he retraced his steps from the night before and made his way to the edge of the forest where he changed back to his human form and made the rest of the journey back in quiet contemplation. Luckily it was the weekend so he didn't have to worry about putting up with any of his professors. Seeing as it was only the crack of dawn Harry got dressed in his work out gear and went for his morning work out. When he was down at the lack he began to warm up and then proceeded to run around the lake and then went for a swim. As he was getting out however he could have sworn he heard giggles and it felt like someone was watching him. Deciding to turn on his extra senses and tried to listen to where the giggles were coming from but he was unable to hear anything apart from the wind and the water so he just got back dressed and headed for the dorm again to shower and wait for the others to get up.

'Hey Harry, you…' Hermione began as she came down from the steps leading to the girls dorm rooms but was cut off from finishing by Harry.

'I'm fine and please don't start acting like I'll break towards me, you know I hate it.' Harry said almost in auto-pilot when he heard Hermione begin with his least favourite question.

'Sorry, so where did you get to last night? We waited up for you for ages. I don't think dean appreciated it thought when Ginny wouldn't go to bed.' Hermione told him.

'I won't tell you yet, I want to wait for Ron and Ginny.' Harry said and at just that minute Ginny came down stretching her arms up and he could see her belly and the look on her face made him smile. Harry couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked in the morning sun but quickly stopped himself thinking when he remembered she was with Dean and she was Ron's little sister. Unfortunately for Harry however Hermione managed to see the look on his face also and deciphered it in a way that only she could.

'Something on your mind Harry?' she asked him with a knowing smile.

'What? No! What makes you think that?' Harry said a little too quickly. Luckily Ginny sat herself down before Hermione could say any more but she gave him a look that said 'I'm not done with you yet mister!'

'Morning Hermione, Harry. Are you…' Ginny began but again Harry wouldn't allow the question to be finished.

'Fine thanks' was all he said. They sat and talked for a few minutes until Ron came down and asked Harry if he was okay at which point Hermione was giggling.

'Should I just wear a sticker that says how I'm doing instead, I could have one for every emotion.' He said.

'So Harry you were going to tell us something when the other two were up?' Hermione prompted.

'Hey we have names you know!' Ron said indignantly.

'Fine when Ron and Ginny were up, better?' Hermione snapped at him.

'Guys, please?' Harry said before they could get into one of their famous or infamous arguments.

'There are some things have been going on with me that I think you should know.' Harry began. Then he turned to Ginny. 'Even you Gin'

'Wait you mean Ginny knows something that we don't?' Ron asked looking a little hurt.

'Yep, who else was I going to confide in?' Harry asked. He got the desired result because Ron didn't say anything else.

'Now then do you all remember when I went to headquarters?' Harry asked

'Yeah, it was around your birthday wasn't it?' Ron asked, still a little hazy about the time when e was under the curse.

'Yeah that's it, well I wasn't there just for the order, I was there to go through puberty' Harry told them. Ron looked a little confused and more than a little embarrassed.

'I knew it!' Hermione yelled. Ron looked at her in his customary 'your nuts' look that he reserved only for the occasions when she would seemingly shout in random outburst.

'Know what Hermione?' Ron asked.

'Harry is a sorcerer' she replied with a smug look on her face.

'When did you figure it out?' Harry asked her, shocked that he hadn't th4ought that Hermione wouldn't already know.

'I had a few suspicions when we were talking again that something was different, you seemed to be doing well in lessons, too well.' Hermione said. Harry just nodded his head and Ron looked shocked. 'But I didn't even think about you being a sorcerer until your little outburst yesterday and the way professor Dumbledore acted during and after it all happened. I knew Dumbledore is a sorcerer and if he seemed relieved that you calmed yourself then that must have meant that he didn't want to go against your power, so it was only logical from there.' She explained in her 'teacher mode' as Harry and Ron had dubbed it.

'So you are as powerful as Dumbledore then?' Ron asked Harry still a little shocked but it was quickly changing to awe.

'I don't really know, he said he was trying to locate a magical object that would show me how powerful I really am.' Harry told him.

'So Ginny already knew this?' Ron asked.

'Yeah , I accidentally heard him transforming and saw through his keyhole what was happening so he had no choice really in telling me.' Ginny said.

'What do you mean heard?' Ron asked.

'Well it was a pretty painful transformation, my magic changed my body a lot, and I was conscious while it did it' Harry explained. 'Any way before that happened Dumbledore came to me and told me about the transformation and everything but he also offered me the position of his apprentice. Since then I have been learning everything and anything I can.' Harry told them all.

'I already know this Harry, why are you telling me again?' Ginny asked him.

'Well I didn't tell you the whole truth. Not only am I an animagus, but I am a fire elemental and I have been doing research, lots of research and each thing that I find useful I use it, I have already corrected my eyes, used a spell to heighten the senses at will and to be able to see magic at will, I am researching dual animagi transformations and am practicing wandless magic and I can aperate and show my aura and make it do stuff as well as all of the advanced spells and magical history and duelling I learned from Dumbledore and the dark arts that I've been researching and finally spell creation and adaptation as well as research in other magical areas' Harry listed off.

'Why didn't you tell me all of this?' asked Ginny a little hurt.

'I was going to keep it a secret from everyone, even Dumbledore, but he has his ways of finding out and last night I decided that I'm through with secrets.'

'Wow, that's a lot, and you've learned all this in just a few months?' Hermione said.

'Well not exactly, most of it I am still working on, like the wandless magic and the elemental magic' Harry said to them.

'This is some bombshell you have dropped on us mate' Ron commented still in awe.

'Harry why are you learning all of this, surely you don't need to know all of this to be Dumbledore's apprentice?' Hermione asked him with a little panic in her voice.

'No I don't, but I do need to know it to kill Voldemort' Harry replied as he seemed to zone out for a second

'What! Your not going after him Harry! Leave it to the order, it isn't your battle anymore, you've done more than your part!' Hermione said with a lot of desperation in her voice now.

'Harry don't do any thing stupid please? There isn't anything you can do!' Ginny pleaded and Ron nodded his head. Harry sighed, this was the exact thing he was expecting when he told them that. He looked down at his hands and when everything went quiet he looked back up to see them all looking at him expectantly.

'What? If you're expecting me to say that I wont go after him then you are sadly mistaken, it is out of my hands, its inevitable, its predestined, its written in the stars… its my destiny' Harry said determinably, looking each of his friends in the eyes.

'What are you talking about Harry?' Hermione asked but it was Ginny that answered as realisation dawned on her.

'The prophesy' she whispered quietly but it seemed to carry all along the group of friends as though she had bellowed it. Harry just nodded his head grimly. He looked around the room to make sure no one was listening and then he cast a silencing charm just in case and then he recited the prophesy to them all.

'That is some heavy burden' Ron commented not really knowing what else to say.

'Are you sure that its accurate, I mean we both know what that old bat is like' Hermione said hoping that there was a mistake while Ginny just sat and stared at Harry.

'I'm positive it's accurate, and even if it isn't then I would rather be prepared all the same, which is what I want you to be too.' Harry told them all.

'What do you mean Harry?' Hermione asked. Instead of answering Harry took out his wand and said 'accio laptop' when the laptop came flying down from his dorm Harry grabbed it and turned it on. He then motioned for the others to gather around so they could see as he explained. Ginny had seen Harry with the laptop many times when he wasn't with the others and asked him once about it but he just changed the subject and explained what it could do.

'What is that thing, I mean I know you can do stuff on it, Neville was saying after you showed him.' Ron said once it was all loaded up.

'This, my dear Ron is a computer, it is a multi-purpose tool muggles use to store things on or to do work on. You can use it to write things with, to hold the information and to do other things with.' Harry explained. Ron just nodded his head and waited for Harry to get to the point. He watched as Harry moved his fingers around on a pad of some sort and saw a little arrow move the same way on the screen. He watched as Harry tapped something and then the screen changed and in front of him to show a table with magical spells written in it and then a brief description and the counter curse if there is one. Harry spent the next hour or so showing them (mostly Hermione) the way around the database and research notes, when he was finished Hermione was wide eyed.

'Harry this is amazing, if the library had one of these it would cut research time down significantly.' She commented in awe of the large database of spells and potions and ingredients, notes on magical process and research and ideas.

'Thank you Hermione, I find it easier to organise myself this way. Now listen carefully to what I tell you next. I am showing you this because you are going to learn what you can from it; however the spells that are marked in red are not to be attempted under any circumstances and the green ones aren't to be even learned. I trust you with this to listen to me and obey my restrictions. The spells take a lot of magic usage so things could get ugly if you tried and the green ones are from my apprenticeship. Now to get full details of the spells that you are allowed to use you do this and it will show you wand movements and more details. Don't even try to do that with the marked spells because they are password protected.' Harry told them all rounding up the explanation and demonstration.

'So you want us to learn all that?' Ron asked motioning to the database.

'Yeah, don't worry it won't be boring or anything, the spells will be interesting for you Ron, trust me.' Harry said to Ron and then he turned to Hermione.

'I usually use the laptop when I am with Dumbledore, but I will order you all one each, don't look at me like that Ron, Hermione will tutor you on how to work them I'm sure and they aren't expensive at all in the muggle world, every one has at least one.' Harry said, lying about the last bit slightly.

'Wow, this is a lot to take in' Ginny said after they all fell silent.

'If you don't want to Ginny I understand, I just thought that you all had a right to know about what was going on in my life, and knowing this puts you all in danger, but if you don't want to do it, it's fine with me, it just means you will have to put up with me shadowing you everywhere to make sure your alright' Harry said and grinned at the last bit. 

'No it's not that, it was just a lot more than I was expecting, but of course I will take you up on your offer' Ginny said and then when Hermione looked at her quickly Ginny blushed and said equally quickly 'The first one that is'

The rest of the day the friends spent just talking over things and Harry explaining a few of his research ideas and spells with them. He told Hermione she could look over any of his notes if she wanted and that she could even test a few of his spells out which seemed to brighten her up even more than she was already.

'Hey Harry, I was wondering how we were going to get all of those spells off your compuder thingy onto ours?' Ron asked at one point in the discussion so Harry had to spend some time explaining about cds and files. 

'So those cds in the dorm have music on them for that other muggle thing?' Ron asked.

'Yeah that's right, you can listen to some if you want, when you get your computers you will be able to play them on it too.' Harry told him.

'Wow that's amazing, those muggles come out with some crazy stuff, useful, but crazy' Ron said. 

'You can decide which songs you all like and ill make you some cds when they get here' Harry told them all.

The next day Harry got up bright and early and went for his morning work out and then went to the great hall for some breakfast after showering. When he got there however he wished he hadn't, almost all of the girls were giggling at him, or whispering to each other while looking at him and others were just plain staring. When he got to his seat he looked to Hermione for an answer, she just handed him 'Witch Weekly' and he groaned before he even looked at the magazine knowing it was probably bad. He was right it was. The magazine had across it on the front:

**_Britain_****_'s most eligible bachelors_**

And then it went on to explain about the special edition of witch weekly devoted to the subject and that it contained wizards such as Bram Spellman, Sean Terpin and Harry Potter. He didn't have a clue who the first two were but he was certain about the third! He opened it up and found the contents page and the list of who was contained and Harry was absolutely stunned to see he was 1st. He found the page for him and read.

_Harry Potter or more commonly The-Boy-Who-Lived is no longer a boy, he has been voted by a specialist panel of judges as the most eligible bachelor in _Britain___ at just 16 years old. Harry Potter has one of the largest accounts at Grinngotts and is one of the richest men in __Britain__. Another attraction to Harry Potter (if the fame for you-know-who's first downfall and his money and good looks weren't enough) he is also a first team seeker for the international Quidditch team and in the top percentage of his class at Hogwarts School of Witch and Wizardry and he was the tri-wizard joint champion. For all those witches out there that like a bad boy Potter also has a darker side to him, he is a parstelmouth which is supposed to be a sign of a dark wizard and has been known to rebel against the rules on numerous occasions through out his school career. This writer has just one question to ask. How long will Harry Potter be on the market and available?_

'Damn it! I wish they would all just leave me alone, I'm sick of all of this!' Harry said very much annoyed. He had to spend the rest of the day listening to Malfoy's comments about it and towards the end of the day he had had enough, he was still sour about the other day.

'If you have a problem with me Malfoy I suggest you act upon it instead of shouting your mouth off all the time!' Harry snapped in transfiguration. It seemed like everyone had heard as the class went silent and they all stopped what they were doing, even McGonagall.

'Are you challenging me Potter?' Malfoy asked.

'No idiot, I'm telling you that if you have a problem then challenge me!' Harry said.

'Fine, I challenge you to a wizarding duel, wands only' Malfoy said almost automatically and he had a malicious smirk on his face but Harry wasn't worried about it because he knew he had more knowledge and power than Malfoy had.

'Stop that this instant, there will be no duels!' McGonagall yelled at them but it was too late. 

'Professor you know it is too late now' Harry said not taking his eyes off Malfoy. With a wave of his wand the room was cleared and all the students were standing well away from the pair. They both bowed to each other but Malfoy kept his smirk but before Harry had even straightened himself Malfoy had pulled something out of his pocket and chucked it at Harry's feet where it smashed and a purple cloud came out of it and enveloped Harry and within a matter of seconds Harry was on the ground unconscious and Malfoy was gone.

'So Malfoy has put Harry into a magically induced coma? Did he say anything?' Dumbledore asked McGonagall

'He said say hello to the dark lord Potter and then port-keyed away, headmaster I don't understand how we didn't see this coming?' she said

'I'm afraid we have been played for fools. You see I was unable to prevent Draco from attending his night time lessons with Voldemort because he had a valid excuse, so I planted a listening device on him so I would have information about his progress and also Voldemorts but it appears that they knew about this and supplied us with bad or only half true information which also makes me think that Severus' position may be compromised because he didn't know about any of this. I think that we have severely underestimated Voldemort and he is further ahead in his plans than we thought, he may even be finished with his necromancy which is why he has attacked Harry so openly and with Draco Malfoy because no he can devote more time to Malfoy. What has Poppy said about Harry's condition?' Dumbledore said as they walked through the halls.

'He is stable but he seems to be thrashing about as if he is in extreme pain, we have no idea however where it is coming from. We don't even have any of the potion that was used on him to analyse' McGonagall said.

'This is very bad for us. Now Malfoy has left the school I am positive that Voldemort will put him through more obvious magical transformations to increase his magical power. I fear we will be seeing more of Malfoy and less of voldemort' Dumbledore said as they reached the door to the infirmary. When they entered what met them was not what they expected, Harry was on a bed thrashing about violently, his hands and legs had been strapped and his mouth was open in a scream. Dumbledore could easily see there was a silencing charm over Harry and a restraining one for all the good it was doing. after a few moments of violent thrashing Harry stilled but Dumbledore knew that it was not a good sign.

'Everyone, shield charms now!' he shouted and cast one around himself. The other followed suit and not a moment too soon because Harry seemed to explode with raw magical energy blowing most of the objects away from him, making them implode, explode, shatter, squash or crack. When they looked up after they felt the energy disappear they saw Harry who now had his aura surrounding him but before anyone could comment they heard Harry shout 'Never! I will never join you, scum!' with a voice that seemed to have an animals roar tied in with it. Once again Harry was thrashing about in severe pain.

'Is he going to be ok?' McGonagall asked Dumbledore who replied

'I am afraid not. Things have just gotten worse'

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          A/N: hey guys, sorry this chapter took so long to get out, I just didn't have much inspiration for it, originally I was going to make it a chapter that introduced a new romance for Harry but I decided to make him stay single till we get to him and Ginny realising how they feel. Thanks to every one who reviewed and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

  
  



	10. Nightmares in the mind, Nightmares in th...

A\N: Warning this chapter has some parts that readers may not like to read about (violence and torture and death) to name a few. So read at your own risk ;-)

Harry Potter and the Rising War

***

Chapter Ten: Nightmares in the mind, Nightmares in the Quidditch Field

"Welcome Harry Potter!" came a high, evil voice from somewhere in the darkness that Harry had arrived in.

"Where are you Riddle!" Harry shouted at a random place as he turned on the spot not wanting to be unguarded when he didn't know where Riddle was. There was an enraged growl from behind so Harry spun around to come face to face with the snake face Tom Riddle.

"Don't you dare call me that again boy, I could hurt you beyond all imagination!" Riddle hissed at Harry

"Where are we and what do you want?" Harry said in what he hoped was a strong voice.

"We are where ever I want us to be" Riddle replied

"What is that supposed to mean?" Harry sneered

"It is supposed to mean that we are in your head, and there is no point in trying to get your pathetic little walls up, it won't work, the potion my faithful apprentice subjected you to has transferred your essence to me, you are now under my complete control. As to what I want, well I would think that was obvious. I can't really kill you as you are now nor can I get to Hogwarts so I'm going have to persuade you to join me." Riddle explained in a cheery voice. Harry gulped and tried to get his walls up but it wouldn't work. As the high pitched evil laugh of Riddle reached Harry's ears so did the pain, the images. It felt like he was under the cruciatus curse but he was also being forced to see images of his friends. He would see Ron hanging from a door frame by his intestines or Hermione being raped and then burnt alive. The images went on and on for each person Harry felt close to. It felt like days before Riddle let up.

"I bet that hurts like hell, tell me Harry, will you join me?" he asked

"I would rather spend eternity as I am!" Harry said through gasps of pain. Summoning all of his strength Harry got back up and faced Riddle.

"My you're a rowdy one today aren't you?" Riddle commented with something akin to amusement in his voice. Harry's only reply was for him to spit in Riddles face. Well that's what he wanted to do; unfortunately it seemed that because Riddle had control over his mind at the moment the spit didn't get that far.

"Now Harry, is that any way to treat you're future master? Show some respect!" Riddle taunted.

"I would if I had my wand, I would respect it right up your ass and fire off an inferno spell, heaven knows your so full of shit that you would blow up worse than the Hindenburg!" Harry gasped out and chuckled. This seemed to get Riddle worked up which Harry was aiming for.

"You will regret that you impudent little brat! We shall continue this when I get back, but I won't come alone, I shall bring with me some nice images of the nightly activity" Riddle spat at him and in a small puff of smoke Harry was alone.

Deciding to take advantage of his time alone Harry began to see what his limitations were here, after all it was his head so he should have some degree of control over something. Harry tried imagining something out of thin air but it wouldn't work, so he tried moving somewhere other than the blackness but it seemed eternal. Harry figured that Riddle had sectioned off a part of his mind and trapped Harry's essence in it which didn't look good for him. Trying one last thing Harry tried to seek his magic core and to his surprise he found it. It appeared that the core would always be accessible to him when he was sentient and aware of himself. Smiling to himself Harry began shifting it around again and started creating another channel for his magic but this time to his mind. Hopefully it would affect the magic that was still in his body and give him a degree of control over the situation. Unfortunately it wasn't long before Riddle returned so Harry had to quickly make himself look aware of him.

"Ready for round two, I have some great shows for you!"

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"How is he doing today Poppy?" Dumbledore asked the matron.

"He still seems to be in pain and there is nothing that I can do to alleviate it for him. It seems to stop for a few hours every night but I don't know why" Madam Pomfrey Explained to Dumbledore.

"I believe I can answer that for you. It is my belief that Voldemort is in his head and causing Harry extreme pain, for what I do not know, he could have any number of motives. As to why the pain seems to disappear at night I think it may be that Voldemort has to withdraw from Harry's mind to make sure they do not fuse and become one and also he is having to put himself out of commission for these visits to Harry, he still has plans to put into order and havoc to reek so he brakes from Harry at night to continue on." Dumbledore explained his theory.

"Well if that is the case then I am afraid there is nothing that can be done for the boy, Severus has been unable to identify the potion so there is nothing that can be done I'm afraid, especially with the powerful aura that he is displaying. He seems to be relaxed at present so please feel free to visit him, I don't know if he will be able to hear you." Madam Pomfrey told Dumbledore. He nodded his head and then entered into the separate room that had been set aside for Harry. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were all sitting with him and had Harry's muggle music player on low playing a soft song.

"Do you mind if I join you for a while?" Dumbledore asked them. It was easy to see they were not faring well, they all had bags under their eyes and it looked that tears had been shed a few times on the girls' faces. Ron seemed to be sitting in a daze.

"Not at all professor, would you like the music turning off?" Hermione replied.

"No, there is no need child, tell me what song is this?" Dumbledore said as he conjured himself a seat next to Ron on the other side of the bed from Ginny and Hermione.

"It's called My Immortal by a muggle group called evanescence. Harry once told me that he could associate his feelings with the songs he has and that it always helped to keep him calm and steady. I thought this song seemed fitting, Harry is my immortal, he is everyone's immortal which is why he is going to pull through this, why he has to pull through this." Ginny answered, voice cracking with unshed tears,  instead of Hermione.

"That seems very fitting and it is good to see that Harry has thoughtful and caring friends." Dumbledore said with a trace of the old twinkle in his eyes.

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"How long are you going to keep this up Potter? It's been two weeks now." Riddle said with frustration clearly evident in his voice. It was true, it had been two weeks of pure pain and torture, if not from Riddle then from himself trying to connect his magic with his mind. Riddle would torture Harry most of the time with pure pain as he called it. Whilst he did it he would assault Harry's mind with more horrible images, recent killings, old killings, future killings and also of Harry's memories.

"I will keep it up as long as you keep me here!" Harry chocked out. All though he was not in his body so to speak his voice was still read raw from screaming, and his skin was marked from the torture Riddle caused when he grew bored.

"You should have given in to me days ago, how are you doing this!" Riddle demanded. The truth was that his magic was helping him a lot, when he went to visit it when Riddle wasn't around it would calm him and relax him. That was part of the reason why progress with the channel creation was slow, Harry would often have to spend a lot of his time just being with his magic instead of shifting it. While he was there however he did notice that his wandless magic channel seemed to have grown from all of his practice which lifted his spirits. 

"Answer me now boy!" Riddle shouted at Harry when he didn't say anything.

"Maybe the potion had a flaw, or maybe I'm just stronger than you think, you figure it out Tom" Harry said as coolly as he could given that his voice was scratchy and painful.

"Do not call me that!!" Riddle bellowed as he strode up to Harry and began a barrage of kicks and assaults on him.

"A bit touchy aren't you, you do know that Dumbledore will track you down and kill you while you're here with me don't you?" Harry asked between gasps.

"Ha! That old coot has had his time, by the time he figures out where I am it will be too late!" Riddle said and then laughed manically

"What do you mean too late?" Harry questioned with a bit of fear and apprehension in his voice.

"I have found a way to reach my ultimate goal, it is only a matter of time until I become truly immortal!" Riddle hissed with a superior look on his face.

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BOOM

"What on earth was that?" shrieked Madam Pomfrey from her office where she had been filling Dumbledore in on Harry's situation. She had been explaining how he had begun to show physical injuries and how he may have mental injuries should he come out of his coma.

"I do not know, please stay here and under no circumstances come out until I say so." Dumbledore said using his voice of power.

When he reached Harry's room he saw what he had expected. The room was blown completely apart, the bed in which Harry had been lying on was nothing but I pile of ask and melted metal, the windows were completely shattered and melted, the brick work had been blown away leaving the outside fully in view and anything else that was in the near vicinity was now but a pile of ash. One thing however that Dumbledore had not expected to see was Harry's aura was displayed around him again and this time it was not only the emerald green-silver, it also had random lines of fire spraying across the surface. With a sigh of relief that no one had been in the room at the time Dumbledore began to restore it.

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Riddle could plainly see the anguish and the pain on Harry's face and he relished in it, he knew that now would be the best chance to turn him, hitting him when he is down so to speak so this time when he began the pain and the images he had all of Harry's loved ones either bowing to himself or telling each other how much they hated Harry. After a few hours Riddle had to let up on the assault but he could see that he was beginning to make more rapid progress.

"Unfortunately my future servant I shall have to postpone the finale for next time, Have a good day" riddle said seemingly out of the blue to Harry before he was gone in a puff of smoke again. Quickly finding his core Harry began to relax and calm again. 'I have got to get out of here, I don't know how much longer I can last' Harry thought despairingly to himself and with out more relaxation time he carried on where he had left off with his channel, the mind link seemed to be more difficult to achieve because he had to find the right spot to end it on, he had reached his brain not long ago and was now creating a large pool for his magic to be stored in that covered the majority of the allowance of space. The new images continued for another week or so, but Harry wasn't sure. Each image was worse than the last and he had began to loose faith in himself and those he loved, the recent fight between himself and Ron and Hermione had not helped matters any, and he began to feel the urge to just give up and let Riddle do whatever he wanted so he could just stop the pain. However when he was on the brink of giving in a new hope settled in, he had almost finished his channel, all he needed was just a few more minutes, however a few more minutes he did not have because just as he thought it he felt Riddle begin to re-enter his mind so he came away from his source to face Riddle.

"Ah Harry, so good to see you. Wont be much longer now I should think, yes I can feel it, the desire is there. I think the first thing I will have you do is kill off that Mudblood bitch friend of yours!" Riddle said with an evil smile upon his serpentine face. 'This is it' Harry thought, he couldn't wait any longer and he needed to get away before he became lost to himself, the last few minutes he had spent with his magic had helped repair some of the damage and the hope was back and stronger than ever but he didn't doubt that Riddle had something big planed for the grand finale to turn Harry dark. Harry closed his eyes and reached out to his magic, he could distantly hear Riddle question Harry about what he was doing still with his voice of superiority but Harry didn't care, as soon as he reached his magic he began adding the finishing touches to the 'brain pool' as he had dubbed it with growing anticipation. It took a little longer than he thought because he could feel Riddle beating him for ignoring what he was saying and also the natural pain the process caused but at last he did it. Harry quickly returned back to his Riddles make shift reality just in time to feel Riddle's leg connect with his head.

"Ah back from the land of dreams I see. Now my soon to be loyal servant I have one last show for you, this will knock your socks off!" Riddle said cackling and then it began. Harry watched as Riddle and a group of death eaters aperated to Privit drive and almost immediately began destroying and torturing who and what ever they could get at. Riddle however approached then one house that was untouched and entered through the door after blasting it away with a wave of his hand. He was immediately confronted with Vernon.

"What the bloody hell do you think your doing here, you… you… thing!" he bellowed which drew the attention of the other residents of the house who were seemingly unaware of the goings on outside. Riddle didn't answer him he just smiled evilly and pointed at Petunia. She seemed to recognise him straight away and began to cower behind Vernon while Dudley just stood where he was in shock at seeing such a monster as Voldemort.

"The sister of Lilly Evans, one of the few loose ends I have left to tie up. You have no idea how much you will aid me by dieing, you should consider it an honour that a bunch of disgusting muggles such as your selves die by my hand, and all because of your dear nephew." Riddle said to them all but never broke eye contact with petunia. "Now is there anything you would like to say to the boy before I kill you?" Riddle asked with a smirk on his face. 

"I hate you, you see what you have done to this family you disgusting little whelp, I should drowned you on the doorstep when you were left, then you could have brought trouble to your no good bastard parents!" a voice yelled which turned out to not be petunia's but Vernon's. He seemed to have accepted that he was going to die which was very unvernon-like. Seeming happy now that everything was said Riddle pointed his wand at petunia and said "imperio" and straight away her eyes glazed over and her face became blank. Next riddle turned to Vernon and froze him to the spot so he could watch everything. Whilst he was freezing Vernon however, petunia had gone into the kitchen and retrieved a knife and spoon and then began advancing on her son who was still too shocked to do anything. When she was standing right in front of Dudley however he seemed to come out of his daze and realised what was about to happen.

"Mummy what are you doing? Mummy please don't!" Dudley begged and pleaded over and over again but it did no good so he began to struggle to get out of her swiping distance but Riddle was too quick and so Dudley was also frozen to the spot. Being frozen however did not stop Dudley from soiling his underpants or feeling pain he found out as he screamed and screamed when his mother cut a hole in his front and then inserted the spoon. It seemed to Harry that the commands Riddle was giving his aunt were that she was too thin and needed to fatten up so she should take the fat from her son. It was revolting to watch but Harry had no choice but to do so. After a few spoonfuls petunia was given another command in which she obliged by taking the spoon and scooping her sons eyes from the sockets but Harry never got to see what happened next however because his new magic channel was beginning to take effect.

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It was entering the third week of Harry's coma and things began to change. The group who usually kept vigil over Harry at night were all sitting in their self designated places around Harry who now constantly had his aura on display when Dumbledore came in and informed them of the massacre of Privit drive a few short hours ago and how they had been too late to save anybody. Just as he got the end Harry's aura began to expand, it was only a little to begin with but gradually it was getting bigger so Dumbledore had all of the teens evacuate the room in case there was another explosion. Dumbledore wasn't sure if Harry could take another magical explosion like last time because his body was now severely injured and Madam Pomfrey was unable to heal Harry now because of his constant aura. What happening next however was not what he had expected, in a rush all off the powerful magic on display was sucked back into Harry's body giving off a slurping kind of noise as it did so and Harry was left lying on the bed still unconscious.

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All of a sudden the images stopped and Harry felt a power that he had not felt in a long time. He had the energy to stand and he felt in control of himself. Riddle was looking on in pure happiness at what he was seeing, thinking that he had succeeded.

"Finally the mighty have fallen and the mightier have risen" Riddle said with pure glee all over his face. Harry was feeling now pure hatred for the man, no the beast before him. He knew that his emotions were what was drawing the magic for him and he was grateful for it. He kept egging the magic on with thoughts of his loved ones, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and more importantly his dead parents because they represented all of what Harry could have had, what he does have and what he will one day be. Upon thinking this Harry channelled some magic within the sectioned off piece of his mind and changed the scenery to an open field complete with a mall breeze. When Riddle realised that things had not gone his way when the scenery began to change he tried to implement the pain on Harry again but it was to no avail.

"What is this? How are you doing this?" Riddle asked, almost in a panic.

"Well Tom it is my mind, you didn't think I was just going to sit around and not do anything while you were away you idiot. Nothing is unbeatable when it comes to magic, especially potions. Seeing as how this is my mind I simply put a lot of time and effort into counteracting the potion" Harry lied to Riddle, hoping that he would buy it and not catch on that Harry was a sorcerer.

"NO! This is impossible, I was so close. It can't be!" Riddle raged. Harry smirked at the anger he was causing Riddle to feel and then he conjured up a wall around him trapping him in it.

"You can't keep me in here forever, you will soon get tired Potter!" he bellowed. Concentrating hard Harry scrunched up his face and pulled up memories of all of the pain and suffering of all the people that need not have been through and pushed with all his might.

"GET OUT!!" Harry shouted at the top of his voice, pushing all of his magic into banishing Riddle from his mind and then making sure that he was sealed out for good and then with one final push he willed away the boundaries, re-opening his mind to his body.

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After the aura had disappeared everyone gathered around the door way to see what was going on. For the first time in three weeks they saw hope. Harry was sweating but he wasn't thrashing around or in pain, he was sweating. They all stood in silence for minutes before it was broken by Dumbledore.

"I've never felt anything like this, his magic is increasing again but at a greater rate, I don't know how he is sustaining it it's…" Dumbledore was saying in amazement when he was cut short as again there was whooshing sound and Harry's aura came back out again but this time stayed at it's normal size but still with the fire pattern, however they were not concerned with the appearance as Harry began to smile and then he arched his back and at the top of his lungs he bellowed "GET OUT!!" and then the aura was gone, Harry's injuries were gone and he relaxed. Silence was upon the group as they all stood contemplating what had just happened but their thoughts were disturbed as Harry coughed and opened his eyes. It was only for a few seconds but it was enough for every one and enough for Harry to know that the images he had seen in his mind from Riddle about them were fake. He smiled at them all and then the darkness overtook him.

"Has he woken yet?" Hermione asked the hospital matron as she entered the hospital wing. She had a free period while all the others were at classes so she decided she would pay Harry a visit and wait for everyone else to finish classes for the day.

"I'm afraid not Ms Granger, however he seems to be out of his unconsciousness and is now sleeping." Madam Pomfrey told her. It had been two days since Harry had come out of what ever it was that he had been but he had been unconscious since. Dumbledore had said that Harry had exhausted a lot of magic and even more than he was supposed to have but Harry should recover soon. Thanking the Medi-Witch she went and took up her usual seat beside Harry and began flipping through a book. She was so engrossed in the book that she didn't even hear Ron and Ginny enter the room. 

"How is he today?" Ron asked her in a whispered voice but it was still enough to make her jump and cry out.

"Was sleeping peacefully" came a raspy, feeble voice from the bed. Everyone looked to Harry to see he had his eyes still closed but a smile on his face.

"Harry?" Hermione questioned

"Yeah" Harry answered.

"Oh Harry, we've all been so worried!" Hermione screeched as she threw her arms around Harry. After Ron reminded her that Harry needed air and that she was hogging him she released him which was a relief for Harry only to be squeezed even tighter by Ginny as she sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder. Harry tried to whisper words of reassurance to her but found that he couldn't and started coughing instead, he managed to choke out "water" in between coughs and was grateful when Ron handed him a glass.

"Blimey Harry, any one would think you had been cut of from water for three weeks!" Ron joked. Harry was about to reply but was cut off as madam Pomfrey came into the room and upon seeing Harry up and awake she let a rare smile come to her face.

"It's good to see you awake Mr Potter, how do you feel?" she asked

"Well my throat hurts. A lot. And I feel really weak. Apart from that okay I guess" Harry told her, she nodded and then walked out the room, and she reappeared moments later with a goblet of steaming potion.

"I am not going back to sleep, I just spent three weeks unconscious thank you very much" Harry said firmly.

"Oh stop being such a baby Mr Potter, this potion is for that throat of yours, you screamed It raw when you did what ever it was that you did and you haven't had any liquids in it since then" she said to him in an exasperated tone.

"Harry what exactly is it that you did?" Ron asked him.

"Indeed that is a good question Mr Weasley but perhaps best left for when Harry has recovered some of his strength?" Dumbledore said from the doorway. The rest of the day was spent with everyone just talking to each other about nothing important, all equally relieved that Harry was back with them. Madam Pomfrey had promised that Harry could leave the hospital wing the next day if he behaved himself until then and that when he was let out that he not over do himself physically, that he build himself back up to the physical stature that he once held.

The next few days went by in a blur, Harry was excused from lessons so he spent much of his time either doing exercise or catching up on his research and work. It turned out that when the others had been made to go back to their dorms while Harry was still in hospital they instead found a spare classroom and practiced anything they found useful from the laptop of Harry's, all though Ginny wouldn't always join them as she had Dean to think about. When Harry had asked them how their progress was he was amazed to see that they were all handling the curses and spells that they attempted expertly, even Ginny who was a year younger.

After Harry had gone to the headmasters office with Ron, Ginny and Hermione to explain what had happened and what he had gone through he was disappointed to see that people were eyeing him with suspicion, even members of his own house again wherever he went. It seemed that there were rumours going around about what had happened to Harry and most of them were true. People had heard that Harry had been getting his head filled with images of death and destruction of his friends and then images of everyone hating him so everyone began to think that Harry was now going dark. In truth Harry didn't come out of the experience as the same person, he was more weary and he didn't really show too much emotion to people other than his family as he had dubbed them. When he had explained to everyone what had happened they were all shocked, but he was happy to see that none of them were giving him pitying looks, Dumbledore even looked proud which lightened Harry's spirits. When Harry explained about the magic channel to his brain Dumbledore grew serious and when Harry questioned him about it he told Harry that if he had done something remotely wrong he would have fried his brain basically but seeing as he didn't he had a new ability to train and research, how direct magic access to the brain can be used and harnessed.

Just over a week after Harry had come out of hospital he felt he was back in reasonable shape and so he asked if he could resume Quidditch training with the team for their ever closer match in a few days. Feeling relieved after Dumbledore had given him the go ahead and even said that those from the school who wanted to could go and watch the match Harry returned to the team the day before the match for training after giving a brief explanation about where he had been for the last four weeks of training, the coach told him he would have to compete against Jonathan again to see if he was fit to play. So again Harry went against Jonathan and again he caught the snitch before he did, but this time it seemed easier for him. The practice went very well for Harry, very tiring, but very well and all too soon the big day came, the match against Australia was upon him.

"All right team, this is what we have all been working towards, they are the second favourites this year, next to Bulgaria. If we win this match then we should have no problems this year! Now get out there and show them all how Quidditch is played!" Mr Stokes said to them before the team went onto the pitch. All too soon the game was underway and Harry was constantly flying flat out on his broom to help brake up plays from the Australian team and interfering with the beaters line of sight when they were trying to hit a bludger. The Australian seeker didn't seem all that worrying to Harry, she just flew about almost lazily only keeping one eye out for the snitch. Deciding to try his luck Harry fly up right by her and then went into a dive and as if on queue the Australian seeker blasted forward after him. Not risking looking back and blocking out the sound of the commentator Harry flattened himself against the broom and then extended his arm as if he had seen the snitch. The ground was now fast approaching, 20 feet, 10 feet, 5 feet, 2 feet, 1 foot, Wham! Harry pulled out at the last second and flew off into the sky, the Australian seeker fell for it, literally! Harry's joy was short lived however because as he became level with the game again he saw the snitch fluttering around one of the Australian chasers so Harry shot after it, within 3 seconds after that the game was over, Harry had caught the snitch and England had won!

As Harry landed he was engulfed in a shower of hugs and pats on the back and members of the team offering congratulations, however the excitement was soon short lived. From somewhere on the pitch there was a resounding boom which succeeded in silencing the whole crowd. Harry franticly looked around to find the source of the unexpected explosion and found it. Out of a black swirling misty substance In the middle of the pitch things began to emerge.

"What the bloody hell are those things?" asked one of the chasers.

"They look like zombies" said another who was obviously a muggle born

"Oh no" Harry whispered, but it had the effect of someone shouting it because all of the team members looked to him for some sort of explanation.

"They are dead people, revived with necromancy by Voldemort" Harry told them. At the name Voldemort the team promptly shuddered and then in the blink of an eye evacuated the field. Knowing they were there for him Harry felt it was his obligation to stay put and give everyone else at least a chance to get out. Soon after the first body came through the black portal the last two came through, a heavily cloaked person that Harry guessed as Malfoy and then Riddle himself. Seeing the two disgusting beings made Harry's anger again rise and his body shake with anger and power. He was just about to approach them when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Without looking around Harry knew the headmaster was behind him, he could sense the power radiating off of him.

"Where are all of the students sir? Who is with them?" Harry asked in a calm voice.

"They are with professors Tonks and Snape. They are still in the stands as is everyone else. We don't know how but Voldemort has sealed them all to their seats, the whole stadium." Dumbledore said in an equally calm voice, even as the dead army and the two monsters began approaching.

"How are you here then?" Harry asked

"I was on my way down to congratulate you when he entered into the stadium." Dumbledore explained. By now Riddle's army was fast approaching and Harry was able to make out details on the dead bodies.

"How are we going to do this professor?" Harry asked him, hoping that Dumbledore had at least some idea of how to get out of the situation alive

"I shall handle Riddle myself, and you can take Malfoy. I suggest first however I clear this drabble of an army" Dumbledore said and then in a heart beat Dumbledore had his arm raised and he was shooting off spells that either blasted the bodies apart or incinerated them.

"Albus, Albus, Albus. You are a fool to think that you are going to walk away from this one. Just look at you, why right now I could fire off a curse and kill you while you play around with my children." Riddle said as he raised his wand.

"You are very naive if you think raising a few dead bodies is distracting enough to warrant an accurate killing curse, or indeed any curse at all. You are showing off your cowardness by not facing me like a man, like a wizard!" Dumbledore said as he cleared off the last lot of approaching dead bodies, however he had hardly even made a dent in the overall amount. There must have been about 300 behind Voldemort and Malfoy all waiting for their masters command.

"So you, you challenge me to a wizards duel? Well that means I shall have to leave my apprentice to take care of your golden boy." Riddle said with something close to excitement in his voice.

"So be it then, a duel, me and you, and your apprentice against my apprentice" Dumbledore said in a calm voice. By the look on both Riddle's and Malfoy's faces they weren't aware of Harry's powers or title.

"let it begin then!" Riddle said and then he waved his wand and said a few words and a giant screen was produced that showed the whole crowd the events that were taking place below them. When riddle next spoke his voice was also changed so the audience could hear it.

"Ladies, Gentleman and Mudblood scum, what you are about to witness is your two saviours get destroyed at the hands of me and my apprentice. Enjoy the show!"

As the last word left his mouth Malfoy lowered his hood and whatever Harry had been expecting to see this was not it. It looked to him that Malfoy had undergone the rest of the transformations that Riddle had. Malfoy's eyes were now blood red like his masters but he did not share his masters likeness to snakes. Where Riddle had a snake face Malfoy had one that resembled a dragon. He had teeth like a dragon, facial structure more like a dragon but still human looking.

"Ready to die Potter? Who would have thought that the great Harry Potter will meet his demise by his school nemeses?" Malfoy sneered.

"You seem so sure of yourself Malfoy" Harry replied in his cool and calm voice.

"Because I know I am Potter. In what world could you possibly hope to better me? You a wizard, me a sorcerer." Malfoy sneered. By now Dumbledore and Riddle had began their duel and it looked to be even, much like it had been at the department of mysteries. Turning his attention back to Malfoy Harry realised he was speaking again.

"Malfoy are we going to do this or what?" Harry said cutting into his speech.

"How dare you interrupt me? Avada Kedavra" Malfoy bellowed. Harry had not been expecting this curse straight out so he dived to the side and quickly got to his feet and fired off a formed a shield around himself. 

"That pathetic little shield won't help you against a sorcerer Potter!" Malfoy shouted with an insane look on his face.

"We'll see" Harry responded. Again Malfoy pointed his wand at Harry and fired off a dark curse. Harry smiled to himself, he knew what the curse was, how to block it and how to undo the effects. When the curse hit the shield Harry made it absorb it and then using a little wandless magic he 'Shattered' the shield and took on the look of someone who was burning from the inside out.

"See Potter, you don't stand a chance." Malfoy said as he sauntered over to finish the job. Using the moment of weakness Harry jumped to his feet and began firing off some of the advanced spells Dumbledore had taught him. Malfoy didn't have time to put up a shield before he was hit with a curse that blinded him. Then he was hit again with another that deafened him and another that took away his speech. Happy with the outcome Harry yelled the disarming charm and received Malfoy's wand and promptly snapped it in half. When Harry looked to the other duel he saw that the two duellers were still looked in combat and that Dumbledore appeared to be weakening. Things looked to be going superbly for Riddle until the blind, deaf and speechless Malfoy walked right into Malfoy as Dumbledore fired off a spell that hit both and sent them flying into the air and then crashing through their army to the ground in a crunch. Voldemort screamed with rage and let off some accidental magic that caused all around him to be blown up, lessoning his army significantly.

"This isn't over Dumbledore, next time I wont be so easily distracted, nor will I hold back." Voldemort said and then he summoned the black portal and he and Malfoy left taking the dead army with them.

"Sir are you okay?" Harry asked as he approached the headmaster that was bent over breathing heavily.

"Yes Harry, I am fine. Just an old man loosing his breath." Dumbledore said as his breathing settled into an even pattern again.

"Was Riddle telling the truth about holding back?" Harry asked already knowing the answer but seeking reassurance from the old man.

"Yes, I am afraid so. I am very weakened now, whereas he is still strong. I don't know how but he has increased his strength again. Dumbledore told him. Before Harry could respond however there was a cheer from the crowd as they finally came out of their shocked state.

"I think the spell has worn off now. I need to go and see Mr Stokes sir, is that a problem?" Harry said to Dumbledore as they headed off the pitch.

"Not at all Harry, if you will please excuse me I must see to the students and the late ministry officials." Dumbledore said as he began to head towards the stands. Harry nodded his head and then he went into the changing rooms to find the whole team sitting down shaking.

"Is it over?" Mr Stokes asked

"yes sir, they went away. I'm afraid sir that I wont be playing Quidditch with the team again. I don't want to put them or the fans at risk anymore. I would like to resign" Harry said as quietly as possible in hopes of the team not hearing.

"Harry, are you sure you want to do this?" He asked.

"Positive sir" Harry replied.

"Very well then. We shall sort out all of the necessary paper work and send them to you. When the war is over however there will be a place on the team for you" Mr Stokes said and then he shook Harry's hand, as well as the rest of the team and they all wished Harry luck as he collected his things and left to find his friends. Though short lived, Harry's Quidditch career was over.

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A/N: There you have it. Another chapter done. I don't think this is the best chapter I have written yet, I seem to be loosing inspiration for the story. Any way there wont be another update for a few weeks now, I want to get ahead in this story and I'm thinking of starting a new one now that I have the hang of writing Harry Potter fics. Thanks for all the reviews guys.

Until next time.

                             GG


	11. Expelled part 1

**Harry Potter and the Rising War**

***

**Chapter 11: Expelled part 1**

Upon arriving back at the school Harry was immediately summoned to the headmaster's office by McGonagall.

"Is this about the attack professor?" Harry asked her

"I wouldn't know Potter, I am not the headmaster, but if I were to hazard a guess I would say it has something to do with it" she replied in her usual prim and proper voice.

"Can you guys take my things up to the tower please, I don't want to carry everything up to the headmasters office and clutter it." Harry asked Ron. Getting a nod he handed over all of his equipment he had stored at the national stadium and waved to his friends as he proceeded to the headmaster's office with McGonagall. They didn't talk much on their way and when they arrived at the gargoyle that guards the entrance to the headmaster's office McGonagall said the password (skiving snack box's) and motioned for the Harry to go up which he did after he bid farewell to the transfiguration teacher.

When Harry approached the grand door that separated the entrance hall and Dumbledore's office Harry raised ghis fist to knock but he needn't have bothered as the headmaster's voice came through the door to Harry's ears telling him to come in which Harry did with his brow creased in wonderment at how the headmaster knew he was there and at that exact moment going to knock.

"I trust you sorted things with the team appropriately?" the headmaster asked in way of greeting.

"Yes sir, everything is sorted, I will only continue playing once this whole war has been cleared up" Harry replied to him. Dumbledore smiled at what Harry had said thinking to himself that if Harry held hope that he would come out of the final battle alive and well then that was a very good sign for the rest of the wizarding world.

"Excellent Harry, now I asked you here to discuss something of great importance to you, something that may make a difference in this war one way or another" Dumbledore said getting down to business and putting his 'poker face' on as Harry had dubbed it when Dumbledore's face became a mask of indifference that betrayed none of the emotions he was feeling or any thoughts he was thinking.

"Upon arriving back here from the Quidditch match I found an owl addressed urgent for me from the minister." Dumbledore began and sighed heavily, something uncommon for the aged sorcerer before Harry. "It said in an emergency meeting held by all of the school governors I have been voted out of the headmaster position." Dumbledore finished still betraying none of the disappointment he was feeling on his face. Things at the moment looked bleak for the students here. As soon as Harry heard the last sentence, the one he had been dreading someway through the explanation Dumbledore was giving Harry his face fell, his eyes widened in shock and his eyebrows raised almost high enough to be engulfed by his hair.

"This cant happen, surely they know that the only reason the students are safe is because Tom fears you?" Harry asked, desperate for someway for the aged sorcerer to remain as the headmaster to protect the students and teachers.

"I am afraid Harry that they do not see it this way, they all agree that I have passed my expiration and am more of a threat to the students safety at the moment that Voldemort." Dumbledore replied but this time his eyes betrayed his attempts at looking impassive. The normally twinkling happy eyes were dull, lifeless and disappointed.

"So what happens now?" Harry asked, dreading the answer.

"Tomorrow morning I will officially be removed as headmaster and Minister Fudge will replace me" Dumbledore said, as Harry was about ask another question Dumbledore anticipated it and said "He has assigned temporary control over the ministry to his second in charge, however all decisions will still have to go through him."

"Oh" Harry said numbly. Things didn't look good at all.

"is there something we can sir, its obvious that when Tom hears of your removal he will use it to his advantage and attack" Harry said, trying to think of any way around this situation but failing miserably.

"There is Harry, as you know with me removed from the school and the wards weakened due to fudge having barely average magical power the school will be vulnerable, you will have stopped taking lessons from me and though you have excelled far faster than I had hoped you are still a long way off defeating Voldemort, the school will fall In a matter of months. I suspect he wont do anything until he knows the wards are weakened further until they are barely in existence. If however you were to come with me then we could concentrate solely on preparing you, somewhere safe, perhaps your home." Dumbledore said to Harry who was taking all of this information in admirably.

"That sounds like an excellent idea professor, but I have two questions, the first is if I were to leave the school with you doesn't that mean that you could get charged with kidnap or the new _Headmaster can order me back to school?" Harry asked._

"Yes it does, and I had thought of this possibility, if you were to come with me then I am afraid that you would have to be free to so and while you attend this school you are not, and you are not of legal age to remove yourself. With your permission while I still have the power to do so I shall expel you." Dumbledore said, looking intently at Harry to see his reaction. Unsurprising to Dumbledore Harry just nodded grimly and said. "If it is what I must do to end this war then it is a small sacrifice" and held out his wand which Dumbledore took and regarded it for a moment and then looked back to Harry and said, "We shall sort you out a new focus when have settled into our new residence" again Harry nodded grimly and waited for the moment he had feared at least once every year he had attended the school.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and then he held the wand in front of himself with a hand at each end and in his headmaster voice said "Harry James Potter, I as official head of this school, Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry do here by expel you from said school for your constant disregard to school rules, constant disregard for authority and for assault on a professor at this school." And with that said he snapped Harry's wand in two with strength unseen to Harry. As the snapping of the wood reached his ears Harry felt a lump rise in his throat and his muscles tense.

"From here on out you are banned from using magic, attending any school of witchcraft and wizardry in Europe and as of tomorrow banished from the school." Dumbledore finished. He handed the broken wand back to Harry and looked at him with his sad eyes and told him that he only had until tomorrow morning until they both had to leave the school.

"Sir before I go I have another question I forgot to ask earlier, you said something about staying at my home, I don't think that will be the most practical place to stay. The Dursley's detest magic and it's a muggle inhabited area, if something we were doing were to go wrong…" Harry said and then trailed off leaving the consequences to the headmasters imagination.

"What do you suggest Harry?" the headmaster asked

"Well in the will Sirius left me the deeds to a plot of land, the plot where my family house once stood. As I understand it Godrics Hollow is a small settlement not far from here. If we were to rebuild my home and stay there, we have access to more resources, like the floo network, information from the school and we can easily get there in no time when we hear of the attack." Harry said to the headmaster, desperately hoping that he had argued his case enough. It wouldn't be so bad going back to Privit drive with Dumbledore there with him, but that didn't mean it would be grand to visit his relatives in the middle of the school year. Dumbledore seemed to in thought about this idea which Harry took as a good sign so he sat and waited for the headmasters decision which didn't take long at all.

"I think that that idea will benefit us infinitely more, while you build the house using wandless magic to build up your strength I shall gather together a few select items and prepare some lessons for you. Yes a very good idea indeed. Well thought Harry, well thought." Dumbledore said with a trace of his trade mark twinkle returning to his eyes. "now I believe that the hour is late and you will want to spend as much time with your friends before we leave tomorrow. You may divulge some of the topics we have talked about here, but please don't mention our location or the attack and make sure no one is listening in." Dumbledore said and Harry guessing this was his queue to leave bid the headmaster good night and set off for the Gryffindor common room where he was sure Ron Hermione and Ginny were waiting up for him. He wasn't disappointed with his thoughts because as soon as he entered the common room he was assaulted with questions from them.

"What did Dumbledore want?"

"Is everything all right at the Quidditch stadium?"

"Why didn't Voldemort attack with his army?"

Were just some of the questions they asked. Harry tried his best to answer them all after making sure there were no stragglers in the common room or any gossips waiting up to hear the newest chapter of the drama that was Harry's life.

"Dumbledore wanted to discuss a few things with me, I'll tell you in a moment. Everything is fine at the Quidditch stadium and the reason Voldemort didn't attack us with his army was because there were too many In the crowd and he and his army were on the pitch surrounded. He merely wanted to prove he was back and worse than ever and instil more fear In the hearts of the wizard population." Harry answered for them.

"Well he did a bloody good job with that one" Ron said. 

"Now as for the meeting with the headmaster…" Harry began and told them most of what he and Dumbledore had discussed. The reactions would have been funny had it not been for the situation that had provoked such reactions. When he told them all that Dumbledore was to announce his departure from the school tomorrow and that fudge would take his place there was plane outrage on their faces and Harry was sure he heard Ginny growl. When he got to the part about him being expelled however there was plane shock on their faces. He told them what he had been expelled for which he regretted immediately. He had to hold Hermione down from marching into the headmaster's office and demanding that he expel her and Ron also for their part in all of Harry's adventures. Harry had to quickly explain that he agreed to getting expelled and told them that he had to continue his lessons with Dumbledore if they were to stand a change against Voldemort (Ron shuddered when Harry said the name and Ginny palled a little) when the time comes. They stayed up for the entirety of the night spending their last hours together and on several occasions they tried to get where he would be staying out of Harry, but he would never tell. When morning approached the all split up to get washed and changed, and in Harry's case packed. It didn't take long to pack his things but he had to be careful that he didn't wake any of the other boys and let them see him doing magic at a seemingly 7th year level without the use of a wand.

By 8 o' clock everything was packed and shrunk, Harry had showered and changed into muggle cloths and headed down to breakfast with everyone else. He got quite a few stares on his way down but he easily ignored them, one side effect of being the boy who lived.

"So are they announcing it this morning?" Ron asked after he stared around him making sure no one was listening in with a paranoid air of suspicion around him. Harry held in his laughter thinking that Ron would be a good apprentice to mad eye moody.

"Yeah" Harry answered and then continued to eat his breakfast. It was nearing the end of the feast when Dumbledore who had not been present entered the room and stood in front of the head table and quietened everyone by simply raising his hand.

"Now every one I have some news for you all. I don't plan to keep you long, due to certain circumstances I have been asked to step down as headmaster." Dumbledore said and then waited while his news sunk in. there were several gasps and a few cries of indignation but also to Harry's amazement a few cheers and not all from the Slytherin table, there were one or two from the Ravenclaws but it didn't matter to Harry which house they belong to, it baited his anger successfully and Harry had to try hard, very hard to control his magic. Dumbledore to his credit ignored the cheers and carried on as if he hadn't heard them.

"As of this morning I no longer have the title, headmaster of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, the new owner of the title is now minister, or should I say headmaster Fudge." And as the last word left his mouth fudge entered the great hall from the side room Harry had been in in his fourth year when he was chosen as the fourth champion for the triward tournament. The thing that cheered Harry up however was the way Fudge entered the room. He entered like he was the queen, waving regally and smiling a false smile, however it quickly turned to a scowl as the expected applause he was waiting for didn't come, instead their was a chorus of boos. He looked to Dumbledore with anger clearly written all over his face and said "You see Dumbledore, this is why we had to kick you out, your poisoning their minds, turning them into your own little army. You a mad old man who has long passed it now leave!" and then he turned to the table and sat in the head masters seat with a satisfied smirk on his face.

 Dumbledore sighed as he was 'told off' by the headmaster and then turned to the students once more surveying them one last time. When his gaze reached Harry he locked eyes for a moment and gave a brief nod which Harry took as a sign to get ready and say goodbye to his friends.

"Guys, its time." Was all Harry had to say. He was sad to be leaving them and his home, but happy that he wouldn't have to put up with fudge, and that he would soon be building himself a new home, a home on the land where he had once lived, a happy carefree life, where he had been loved and aloud to be a child. Hermione hugged him with tears in her eyes. "don't forget to write at least three times a week, and a floo call wouldn't hurt either." She whispered to him. When she let him go Harry shook Ron's hand and then pulled him into a brief one armed hug, patted his back and told him to keep Ginny and Hermione in line. By this time he had got the attention of a few people on the table, they were all looking at this display with curiosity. When Harry hugged Ginny he couldn't say anything to her, he felt if tried to say anything he would begin to cry. Ginny however didn't care if she cried or not she whispered in his ear, voice thick with tears and breath warm and strangely comforting on his ear that she would think of him always and would miss him loads. When they broke the hug she kissed him on the cheek, eliciting a blush from Harry and a glare from Dean. While Harry and his friends said their goodbyes Dumbledore was doing the same, regardless of the glare from Fudge, he went down the line of teachers exchanging some pleasantries and promising he would see them soon, preferably as headmaster once more, and for those who were in the order he told them that he would  contact them all in a few weeks and give them his location and that they would hold meetings their and use it as a temporary headquarters. When both Harry and Dumbledore had finished their goodbyes they both stood and began for the door, before fudge noticed Harry was going Harry had already met Dumbledore in between Gryffindor table and Hufflepuff but as they headed for the door Fudge leapt to his feet and shouted "STOP RIGHT THERE POTTER!"  Harry had been expecting something like this from fudge so he wasn't surprised by the man bellowing at him. He looked to Dumbledore who gave a discreet nod and they both stopped and turned to face fudge who was now coming down the walkway between the two tables. He stopped a few feet from the two and demanded to know what was going on.

"I would think that is obvious Minister." Harry said trying to bait the headmaster.

"You will address me, Potter, as sir or headmaster." Fudge said with a sneer.

"I will do no such think Minister, now if you please me and _Mr Dumbledore _have to be going now." Harry said, putting emphasis on the Mr Dumbledore part.

"POTTER! DETENTION! SNAPE! MONTH!" fudge screamed, spit flying out of his mouth and only seeming to get out words at a time through his anger. Harry was loving this inside but on the outside he had on a mock sorry face and said in his best sarcastic yet angel like voice "I'm so sorry to inform you minister but I wont be having detention, I wont be calling you headmaster and I wont be coming back here to learn again, _Mr Dumbledore _expelled me last night, I'm banished from the school"  Harry couldn't hold it in any longer, the expression on fudge's face the reaction from the school as a majority was so funny he just had to laugh, and laugh he did, in the ministers goldfish impersonating face causing several students to laugh as well. Coming to his senses (or the best he could manage with the limited brain he had been 'blessed' with) fudge glared at Harry and through clenched teeth told him to leave and never come back then he turned to the school, who were now chatting wildly about the events that had transpired this morning and shouted for silence. 

"Any student found to be corresponding with Potter or Dumbledore will be punished severely, now I want no more mention of this morning. Now everyone to your lessons!" fudge said and then slumped in his chair. While he was giving his little speech Harry and Dumbledore had already left the school and were on their way to the gate, passed the anti-apparation wards.

"That went better than I thought" Harry remarked idly as he and Dumbledore walked through the gates.

"Indeed" Dumbledore replied and in two soft, barely noticeable 'pops' they were gone. 

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**A/N: Hey everyone, I know its been forever since I updated but I just didn't have any inspiration or drive, and I have this plot for another story in my mind, so I'll probably start that after I finished this and then do a sequel for this after my other story. The second part of this chapter will be up in a few days, I lost all my work recently so I had to start the chapter over, but its better than the other I started :D**

**Thanks to all who have reviewed and I am infinitely sorry for the long wait for a new update, but hopefully you wont have to wait long again.**

**Until next time.**

**                             GG**


	12. Expelled part 2 – The Return

**Harry Potter and the Rising War**

***

**Chapter 12: Expelled part 2 – The Return**

In the busy bustling shopping district of Diagon alley two small 'pops' echoed barley noticeable in the air warranting the arrival of Albus Dumbledore former headmaster of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry and Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived.

"You know, in some ways I'm relieved to be away from there" Harry commented as they both got their bearings.

"Indeed?" Dumbledore replied as he made a mental check list of what they had to do in the alley today.

"Yeah, Fudge would have been on my case with everything I did, it was bad enough with just Snape, but I don't think I could have handled both of them" Harry said with a smile. Dumbledore chuckled and then said "Yes I believe there would have been a few cases of accidental magic to deal with at the school if that were the case"

"Where are we going first sir?" Harry asked his mentor.

"We shall need to purchase supplies for your new home, stone and wood, I need to purchase a few supplies also and I dare say that you have something you want to sort out?" Dumbledore told him, implying his broken wand. Harry nodded his head and then said "To Grinngotts first then?"

"Yes indeed, lead the way Harry" Dumbledore replied and Harry did as requested and headed to the bank that was not too far away from the apparation arrival area. As they were walking along the street they were drawing quite a crowd, after all it isn't every day that you see two celebrities and powerful prominent people in he wizarding world walking down the street together.

"I hate this" Harry murmured under his breath which earned another chuckle from the ex headmaster. "Yes I quite agree, however due to our little demonstration yesterday we have upped our celebrity status and given the people hope, if this is the price I have to pay for people to believe that they can win this war and come out of it alive then pay I shall" Dumbledore said in his al knowing voice.

"Why do you continually point out the good point in things, I was enjoying being able to complain about something with a free conscious!" Harry said to Dumbledore with a scowl on his face.

"I am afraid Harry that some one has to do it, and it might as well be me" Dumbledore replied with a twinkle in his eyes. If Harry was about to reply he didn't get far, as they had arrived at the bank and were climbing the stairs to the grand doors. Once they were inside the building they approached one of the free goblins who appeared not to care at all that he had two of the most famous wizards in the world, and not to mention powerful standing before him.

"What do you want?" the goblin asked not even bothering to sound nice.

"Withdrawal from Harry Potter's vault" Harry told him and then Dumbledore said "And a withdrawal from Albus Dumbledore's vault if you please Mr Dorhood" Harry looked around the goblins desk looking for the name plaque he had obviously missed but could find no such thing. When he noticed the goblin was not asking for the keys he looked to him and saw that he was looking at Dumbledore suspiciously, but Dumbledore didn't seem to mind or notice as he stood still twiddling his thumbs with a pleasant look on his jovial face. After a few long moments the goblin cleared his throat and then said "Keys please" Harry and Dumbledore handed the keys over and then followed the goblin to a cart. The ride was exactly as Harry had remembered it, wild and what he would expect a rollercoaster ride to feel like. Dumbledore looked to be enjoying the ride more than Harry he noticed when he looked to see how the old man was doing, expecting him to be in a similar condition as Hagrid had been on their first trip down the catacombs of the ancient bank to Harry's vault.

"Out" the goblin said as the cart stopped outside of Harry's vault. Harry and Dumbledore exited it and approached the vault as the goblin opened it. The amount looked to have tripled from what it used to be and Harry stood where he was in shock, his legs having turned to jelly. It took him a few moments to realise that most of this money had once belonged to the black family. Coming back to his senses Harry turned to the headmaster who was observing Harry's reaction.

"Sir how much do you think I will need for supplies?" Harry asked

"I don't know Harry, but we can always ask the supplier to charge to your account, I would suggest taking out a fairly large amount however as we shall need to buy other things, among which a place to sleep and food to eat." Dumbledore answered him. Harry nodded and then got Dumbledore to unshrink his trunk (not wanting to do it outside of school and wandlessly in front of any one else, even if it was just a goblin) and then started to fill a rucksack he had with gold. Once done Dumbledore put a feather light charm on it and a few security spells and then shrunk Harry's trunk again. Once they were finished in Harry's vault they proceeded to Dumbledore's and again the senile old man seemed to be enjoying the trip their.

Harry was quite looking forward to seeing what sort of things the estranged ex headmaster would put in his vault and was not disappointed when he got a clear look at it, there appeared to be more gold in it than there was in Harry's but Harry had more silver sickles and bronze knuts but that was where the normalcy ended as far as vaults go, aside from the huge mountains of money their appeared to be a vast supply of candy, muggle and wizard, there was also books and some other curious magic items but what made Harry most curious was a massive stack of old newspapers. They appeared to be hundreds of years old. Dumbledore seeing where Harry was staring laughed quietly to himself and then explained to Harry that his family liked to keep memories and each newspaper had mention of at least one Dumbledore, dating back to about a hundred years after the founding of Hogwarts.

"Your family is that old?" Harry asked him in amazement, sure he had figured Dumbledore's family would have to be pureblood, and probably pretty old, but to be nearly as old as the founders!

"Yes it is Harry, though its believed its older still but as the family name was changed then and nothing of great significance happened to a member of my line we are not sure, your family however is known to be older still, perhaps the oldest line of wizards in the world." Dumbledore explained as he extracted a few books and briefly paged through them.

"What! Are you sure?" Harry asked not daring to believe his ears. Dumbledore looked up from the book he was currently paging through smiled at Harry's shock and nodded.

"Positive, have you ever wandered about the name of the settlement that your family owns?" Dumbledore asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

"But other people live there too" Harry protested as it seemed that the headmaster was suggesting that he was Gryffindors heir.

"Yes they do, but they do not own the land as you do" Dumbledore said.

"But… bu… I cant I mean, no… I'm not the heir of Gryffindor!" Harry finally got out through his shock and disappointment at having yet another thing to set him apart from normal kids his age, and most adults. Dumbledore mean while was enjoying making har4ry jump to conclusions and making him worry. Finally deciding to put Harry out of his misery he smiled and said. "Don't worry Harry, you are not the heir of Gryffindor." Which seemed to make Harry visibly relax and the relief on his face was funny for Dumbledore to see but he daren't laugh just yet there was more to come. "At least your not his descendant. You are his heir." Dumbledore said. Seeing Harry's confusion and bubbling question he said "the potters are an old line Harry, traced as far back as can go, before records were made even. Being such a prominent wizarding family they had ties with many families, but one in particular, the Gryffindors. It is hard for historians to trace your line and Gryffindors back because they were so closely connected but they were not so connected as to merge them. Unfortunately the Gryffindors died out a few hundred years after the founding of Hogwarts and in the will of the last Gryffindor he named the heir of the potters his heir and successor, so you see you are his heir, but only by law." Dumbledore explained as simply as he could knowing that it was a very confusing thing to try and sort through.

It took a few minutes for what Dumbledore had told him to sink in and a further few more for him to sort through the new information but when he could finally comprehend what Dumbledore had told him he was pleased. Thinking about it he had the best of both worlds, he was the heir of Gryffindor without the entire hubbub that's associated with it and he still carried the name Potter.

"Are you okay Harry?" Dumbledore's voice penetrated his thoughts bringing him back to the present. Seeing that Dumbledore had finished gathering everything that he needed Harry realised he most have zoned out for at least 10 or 15 minutes.

"Yeah I'm fine. I was just thinking about what you said. I'm glad I'm not a direct or any sort of descendant of Gryffindor, the last thing I need is one more thing to make me more famous and well known." Harry said to Dumbledore who's only reply was the nod of his head before he headed out of the vault, followed by Harry.

Once they reached the surface Dumbledore thanked the goblin that had taken them down to their vaults and began heading out of the bank but stopped when Harry called to him.

"Professor, hold on a second I want to get one more thing and exchange some money." Harry shouted to Dumbledore as he was half way to the door. Satisfied that the headmaster had heard and was on his back over to where Harry stood Harry turned to the goblin and said "I am told that Sirius black held a few items in a storage at this bank and one of which is an enchanted motorcycle, as his heir stated in his will which you have received a copy of I would like to retrieve the motor cycle. Also I would like some money transferred into £10,000 please" the goblin nodded his head and then turned his attention to a large filing cabinet and sorted through a few files until he stopped at one and took it out and looked over it for a few moment before nodding to himself and turning back to Harry and saying "Everything seems to be in order Mr Potter, while I go and retrieve your motorcycle Gryphook here shall take care of the transfer" and motioned towards the goblin that was next to him. By this time professor Dumbledore had arrived back at the desk and was waiting patiently for Harry to finish his business.

Once all of the transfer was dealt with (Dumbledore had to interrupt as it seemed the goblin was trying to cheat Harry at the exchange rate and commission charge) Harry pocketed his muggle money and then he headed back over to the desk belonging to Dorhood who still had not returned from retrieving his motorcycle.

"May I inquire what the muggle money is for Harry, after all we will be staying in a wizarding village" Dumbledore asked with interest.

"Before the coma I told Ron, Hermione and Ginny about everything and I showed them all that I had on my laptop, I told them that they aught to be prepared too so I would get them all a laptop computer and put on all of the spells that they could do or gain information from to block like the dark arts. Of course I will be leaving out most of my research and a lot of the more dangerous and powerful spells." Harry said to Dumbledore hoping that he had done the right thing in helping them learn potentially dangerous and near illegal curses, but it seemed he had nothing to worry about because Dumbledore just smiled fondly at him and was just about to voice his agreement when Dorhood came back accompanied with a few other goblins with Harry's enchanted motorcycle. Seeing this Dumbledore raised a questioning eyebrow at Harry, not being close enough at the time to hear Harry ask for it.

"Well I got to make my fun somehow now that I don't have Quidditch" Harry said innocently.

"Indeed" Dumbledore said and smiled. He took out his wand and said an incantation and in the blink of an eye the motorcycle looked nothing mort than a Childs toy.

"If that is all Harry?" Dumbledore asked as he handed Harry the miniature motorcycle.

"Yes sir" Harry said and they both set off for Diagon alley for some serious spending.

"We shall first get our resources, stone and wood from a merchant, I know just the one, follow me" Dumbledore said as they entered the hustle and bustle of the street again and once again were drawing attention to themselves. Dumbledore took Harry down a side alley not far from Flourish and Blots book store and they both entered a small shop, though it looked more like an office. Along the walls were samples of stone and wood with short descriptions and behind the desk sat a man who looked to be about 40 bit black hair that was neatly trimmed and a face that showed he had known many joys, as did his brown eyes.

"Albus! Its been a long time, what can I do for you today?" the man asked, seemingly not noticing Harry standing a way behind, observing his store.

"Actually Andrew it is not me that is in need of your assistance and advice, but rather young Mr Potter here." Dumbledore said motioning towards where Harry stood.

"Blimey, I didn't see you there Mr Potter. How do you do?" the man asked as he got up and approached Harry. He offered his hand as soon as he was close enough which Harry took and shook firmly.

"Good thank you Mr erm…" Harry replied but trailed off at the end, not knowing the name of the man who appeared to be one of Dumbledore's many friends.

"Terribly sorry Mr Potter, terribly sorry. The names Andrew Robinson. You can call me Andrew if you like" he said.

"Well Andrew you can call me Harry. I'm in need of your help, I shall be building myself a new home shortly and I was wondering if I can get your expert advice?" Harry asked the man. 

"Certainly Harry, I'll need to know a few things first however. Firstly, how many floors?" Andrew asked.

"Well I hadn't really thought about it, why does it matter?" Harry asked him wondering what relavence the question had to the supply of stone and wood he was after.

"Some stone is better for two or three story buildings than others, and as a result is more expensive. If you were to buy the cheaper stone and use it to build yourself a three story house then in a matter of months depending on weather conditions the house will fall in on itself." Andrew said 

"Ah, well thinking about it I really don't see the need for two stories at the moment but I don't know about in the future, so it had better be one of the more expensive types of stone." Harry said thoughtfully.

"Excellent, not if you look on this wall there are different style of stone and wood that you can choose from, it doesn't matter which, they all have an equally high tolerance for all conditions, it is now just a matter of taste. Take as long as you need." Andrew said to Harry as he directed him to the wall in question. Once satisfied that Harry was really thinking about his choice he went back over to Dumbledore and started chatting with him. Eventually the conversation turned to Hogwarts and he enquired why the headmaster and a student were there in the middle of the school year buying supplies to build a new house in which Dumbledore simply replied "If you read the paper tomorrow you will get somewhat of the truth, though I imagine the story will be greatly exaggerated."

It was another few minutes before Harry finally settled on a stone that was similar in colour to muggle bricks, but a lot more durable. He ordered enough stone for a standard two storey house with a cellar just to be sure that he would have enough and not need to come back. The wood that came with it was a polished dark oak but this time he ordered as much as he thought he would need, not wanting to waste any if he could as it would not keep as well as the extra stone he ordered would.

"Will that be all Harry?" Andrew asked him once he had written down his order and down all of the necessary calculations and price. Seeing the nod from Harry he duplicated the parchment he had been writing on and handed one to Harry. The price for all of the supplies was not as bad as Harry was expected, in fact he had a sneaking suspicion that Andrew had gone easy with the price on him because who he was and that they were both friends of Dumbledore. After Harry had given Andrew his bank details and where the stone was to be delivered to Andrew thanked him and told him the supplies were to be delivered tomorrow and so Harry and Dumbledore thanked him and bid him goodbye then headed once again into Diagon alley.

"Where to next?" Harry asked.

"Olivanders to see about your wand, I'm not sure if he can or will fix it for you due to the laws about expelled students." Dumbledore told him as they both adjusted their directions appropriately. 

"Well if it isn't Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter, I've been expecting you." Ollivander greeted them as they entered his store.

"An owl from the minister, sorry headmaster?" Dumbledore asked him as they approached the counter.

"Arrived a few hours ago. I am afraid there is no way that I can fix the wand, even if I were consented to do so." Mr Ollivander said sadly. Hearing him say this was like a blow to his gut and Harry hung his head in defeat. He had not expected something like this to happen when he gave Dumbledore consent to expel him.

"Oliver, is there nothing you can do?" Dumbledore asked but Harry didn't want to hear the answer so he decided to look around the shop. One the side of the counter where he was there were a few displays of wands that Mr Ollivander had made and even a staff. They all looked to be powerful, as is with all of Mr Ollivanders work. Once Harry had observed all of the displays on his side of the counter he looked on the other side beyond where Mr Ollivander and Dumbledore were talking and saw a… well he wasn't sure what it was, it was highly reflective, like a perfect mirror, but it had a fluid look about it. It didn't appear to be in any sort of shape, just a raw material. Curiosity getting the better of him Harry interrupted the conversation.

"Excuse me, Mr Ollivander, sir? What is that substance behind you?" Harry asked him. Mr Ollivander turned around to see where Harry was pointing and once he realised what he was pointing at he approached it and slid his hands under the velvet cushion that it was resting on and walked over to the counter with it.

"This Mr Potter is the single most magical element known to wizard kind. You see when a wand is used to draw the magical power from a wizards core it looses some of the power on the transfer from core to arm, arm to hand and then from hand to wand, resulting in maybe only half of a wizards true power being utilized. This substance however has a draw on it so powerful that it looses none of its magic withdrawal and in some cases expands it. However it is also the single most hardest thing known in both the muggle and wizard world which is why it is not used a lot or at all, also it is expensive, extremely expensive, this happens to be half of the amount I currently have in my position." Mr Ollivander explained to a nodding Harry, who while listening was formulating a plan of his own.

"Professor, what is the law for expelled students in relation to wands and such?" Harry asked Dumbledore who now also looked to be formulating a plan.

"I believe Harry, that the law states that expelled students are not permitted to buy a new wand or magical focus, including staves and swords. It in no way covers crystilite" Dumbledore clarified.

Turning back to Mr Ollivander who obviously could see where this conversation was going Harry said "Well sir you heard it from the chief Warlocks mouth it does not include crystilite. I would like to purchase half of your supply please." Harry said with a smile on his face, but it faltered a little as it seemed Mr Ollivander was hesitant to depart with his beloved crystilite.

"I'm not sure that I want to sell this to a child Mr Potter, it is very rare and I don't see what good it will do you, it takes a great power and skill to form it." Mr Ollivander said.

"Well sir it just happens that I have both required properties" Harry said

"I know you are powerful Mr Potter, the wand that choose you would not have done so if you were not, however I am talking about a power comparable to Dumbledore's, I would have no problem with handing it over if it were Dumbledore that were to shape it but it only works for the wizard who shapes it, thus deeming it useless to you. Do you understand me?" Mr Ollivander asked Harry, sounding to him a little patronising. Having enough of this Harry sighed and then said "Would you like a demonstration of my power sir?" and before Ollivander could argue Harry raised his hand and recited the summoning spell, summoning the glasses off Ollivanders face. The next thing he did was to hold his palm up and summon a small fireball and then shape it into a small prongs and animated it around his palm.

"What… how? You have no wand?" Mr Ollivander stammered, he seemed to have been convinced to Harry so he dismissed his fire prongs and handed back Ollivanders glasses.

"It is a form of wandless and elemental magic that I am trying to perfect, now do you agree that I have the necessary power and skill to handle the crystilite?" Harry asked him knowing the answer already.

"Yes yes, I shall look forward to seeing the results very soon." Mr Ollivander said as he bagged the crystilite and handed it over.

"That will be 2080 Galleons please" he said.

Once Harry had handed over the correct amount of money after summoning 2080 galleons at once and levitating them before they had a chance to hit him to the counter he and the ex headmaster bid Ollivander a goodbye.

Once they were out of the store they made sure they had everything and then they both aperated (Harry was careful not to get spotted) to Godrics hollow.

"So this is it…" Harry sighed as he looked around the small village. This was the last place he and his parents had been together. The last place he had felt loved for 12 years.

"Yes it is, Harry if you want to change your mind about this no one will think any less of you." Dumbledore said noticing Harry's swift mood change.

"No that's okay professor, there is no other place in the world that I would think of living but here, except maybe Hogwarts. No this place has been in my family, be it direct or extended for centuries and I will not turn away from my heritage." Harry said in a determined voice as he looked upon the village. He noticed he couldn't see the site where his house once stood.

"Professor where it the site?" Harry asked him.

"Ah yes, it is a little bit further out of town, the grounds were a little bigger than the other houses. For now however I think we should find ourselves an inn and get a room and some dinner." Dumbledore said as he placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and led him to a large house that, on closer inspection turned out to be an inn.

The inside appeared very cosy to Harry and he felt his spirits rise at the feeling of being in his ancestral village gave him. When they approached the lady at the counter she looked upon them then did a double check at Harry and her eyes widened.

'Oh no' Harry thought 'not another boy-who-lived fanatic' but he smiled anyway.

"Harry Potter! She gasped. "You have returned!"

**A/N: Hey all, thanks for all of the reviews, I'm so glade my support hasn't wavered in my… absence. Thank you all soooo much. In case you haven't noticed I have new motivation to finish this story so hopefully updates will be every few days. Thanks again and I hope your all enjoying the story!**

**Until next time.******

**                           GG**


	13. Wandless Magic

**Harry Potter and the Rising War**

***

**Chapter 13: Wandless Magic**

"What was all that about?" Harry asked Dumbledore as they reached their rooms.

"Well aside from the fact that you are the local celebrity I believe it might be connected to your heritage and indeed the heritage of all of these people here. You see this village back when it was first founded was a working village of sorts, the Gryffindors built a large manor house here and as they were noble people they hired servants to care for the grounds, grow food etcetera because they didn't justify enslaving house elves. All of these people are descendants of the servants that served your line, and I assume they have all heard the stories of how their ancestors were treated with respect and equality and remain loyal to the Potters/Gryffindors. Many times the Gryffindors and Potters fought to defend their homes and the homes of any relatives of their servants because they cared greatly for those that they considered an extension of their family, the people in their employ." Dumbledore explained as he opened his door and looked around his room but not entering it.

"So I have a greater celebrity status here than anywhere else?" Harry asked with a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

"Yes it would seem so, but at the same time the people who live here respect your need for privacy, after all most of the generations have grown up having at least one celebrity live in the village." Dumbledore answered him still looking around his room, once he seemed to be happy with what he saw he turned to Harry and said "Now I believe the hour is late, and we shall make an early start tomorrow, or rather you shall while I draw up the plans for you." Dumbledore said and he nodded his head goodnight and entered his room and closed the door behind him.

Sleep that night came easy enough for Harry once he had sorted through the list of things that needed to be done, first there was his morning exercise, then after that there was the initial landscaping of the area where they were going to build the house, he wasn't sure what to expect however for what comes next, he didn't know the planes for the house so he didn't know what they were going to do first in terms of actually building the house, but he guessed he would have to do something along the lines of setting the foundations. Once all of the house business was taken care of for the day he planed a quick apparation to London to purchase the new laptops and for a quick drive around on his new bike and depending on the time he might fly back, so with this itinerary in mind Harry closed his eyes and set his mind to his magic core where he let the feeling of calmness come over himself.

******************************************************

"Rise and shine" came the cheerful voice of Dumbledore what seemed like only moments after he had set into his meditative state.

"What time is it?" Harry asked once he came back to the conscious world again, it felt to him a lot earlier than what he usually came to.

"4:30 I believe" Dumbledore replied again in his cheerful voice as if this were a common time to be risen from (for a normal person) the land of nod.

"What! Go back to bed, there's still at least another hour and a half left of rest time!" Harry exclaimed to the chipper ex-headmaster as if he was an excited child on Christmas.

"Ah but Harry if you wish to get everything into the day then this is the time to get to it, a very wise muggle saying 'The early worm catches the bird' or is it 'The early bird catches the worm'? that one does make sense, but then there is no telling with the muggles, double meanings for everything those people" Dumbledore rambled to himself.

"Your crazy and you'r going insane!" Harry said with a little sarcasm

"Ah! But that is where you are wrong my boy, not going, gone" Dumbledore said with much enthusiasm, as if he were proud of this accomplishment. "Now, what are we waiting for? Chop chop, get to it, we don't have all day"

"All right, all right" Harry said as he got himself out of bed and entered the adjoining bathroom to shower for the tiring day that was no doubt to come.

Once Harry had got his exercises out of the way for the day he and Dumbledore sat down together to enjoy a surprisingly nice early morning breakfast. At one point during their meal they were interrupted by one of the waitresses that didn't have all that much to do so early in the morning.

"Erm excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt but I was just wondering if the rumours were true Mr Potter?" the girl asked.

"First of all miss, you are my senior, there is no need for you to address me with such formalities as Mr, if anything I should address you as ma'am. Secondly yes the rumours are true, at least about me moving back here again, I don't know about the others, it's somewhat hard to keep track of what the daily prophet is saying about me these days." Harry said with a polite smile on his face throughout the whole conversation.

"Thank you er… Harry. I was wondering if you will be employing maids and groundskeepers and people like that?" she asked him hopefully. Harry couldn't understand why people would want to work cleaning after someone else.

"To be honest with you miss, I haven't thought about it, but while I'm away at Hogwarts, if my expulsion ever gets lifted, then I will need people to maintain the house. As for while I'm there I don't think I will for the time, I shall be needing some privacy for a few months, but after then I assure you there will be a position open." Harry told her, hoping that he didn't disappoint her too much. He felt that in the time to come, these people would grow to become apart of his family like Dumbledore had said his ancestors felt about them, the atmosphere already told him that everyone knew everyone else here and he found himself wanting to be apart of that and to help it grow.

"Thank you so much, my family have always been in service of a Potter or a Gryffindor! You don't know how much this means to me. Oh! Where are my manners? I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself yet, my name is Elizabeth Jennings but everyone calls me Liz" she said with excitement shining in her eyes, once she introduced herself she stuck her hand out for Harry to shake, which he did so and said he was pleased to meet her. It was at this point when she was called back into the kitchen to begin preparing the rest of the food for the tenants.

During the whole conversation Liz didn't so much as glance at Dumbledore let alone acknowledge that he, one of the most if not the most powerful magicians of the time, was sitting right there with an amused look on his face which made Harry almost loose it and laugh halfway through the conversation.

"Now that we have all of that sorted and breakfast out of the way, perhaps we could go to the site and begin the work?" Dumbledore asked noticing that Harry's plate was empty.

"Okay then sir, I suppose its better to get it over with as soon as possible." Harry said, his eyes betraying the trepidation that he felt about walking to the site of his and his parents family home, where they took their last breaths and lived their last of their lives.

"Very well then, just know that at any time if you feel overwhelmed or you just cant handle it then let me know and we shall leave it for another time" Dumbledore said eyeing Harry with concern.

"I think I'll be fine thank you sir" Harry replied with grim determination set upon his features.

"Okay then, lets get to it shall we, I imagine the building materials will be arriving shortly" Dumbledore said as he gathered his things (which consisted of a bag of who knows what and his wand) and stood, waiting for Harry to do the same.

It took them little under 5 minutes to get to the plot of land that he owned (for the purpose of building his house as he owned the whole town) which was on the outskirts, far away enough to ensure privacy but close enough to be apart of the town and not isolate himself from the people he saw the destruction that was once his home. Chocking back a sob that threatened to escape his throat Harry squared his shoulder and surveyed the area. It was roughly as long and wide as 4 average muggle houses. Walking to the centre of the ruins Harry stood for a moment in silent thought for his parents. He bowed his head and said once again the vow that he would end this war so that their sacrifices were not in vein.

"Mum, Dad. If your up there then know that I miss what we could have had. Know that I miss what we did have, even if all I have to remind me of it are old photos. And also know that I will bring Voldemort to justice not for the wizarding world, or the muggle world but for you and for Sirius. You all gave your lives for me to live, and that it just what I plan on doing, let this house be a simple of what is to come, as long as it stands then all will know that I was able to live my life. I miss you all." Harry thought in his minute of piece. Coming back to reality he noticed Dumbledore had given him the minute to himself which he was grateful for as he had unknowingly shed tears, but these were not tears for him to be ashamed of so he left them and instead he walked over to the professor who was already drawing up plans.

"Are you okay?" Dumbledore asked once Harry had arrived at his side.

"I am fine now I have made my piece." Harry replied back and that was all that was ever said on the matter, Dumbledore just nodded his head in understanding.

"Now from what I can remember this was the layout of the house." Dumbledore said, switching to his business voice like he had been using it all day and saying a few words under his breath as he held his hand over the parchment he had been using. His hand glowed a soft blue for a moment and then it went back to normal, but the parchment was now displaying a 3d model of the planes Dumbledore had drawn and incidentally thought about. "As you can see here we have the front door opening straight into the living room of the house which covers the most room of the house. The dinning room and the kitchen are on the far right of the house, kitchen at the front and Dinning behind, both accessible from the living room and both accessible from each other. The bedrooms were at the rear of the house, each having an adjoining bathroom, the master bedroom covering the right side while the two bathrooms were in the middle of the house with the second bedroom on the left side. The bedrooms were accessible through the living room and each bathroom through the corresponding room (the bathroom closer to the rear of the house for the second bedroom and the bathroom above that for the master bedroom).

Overall Harry was pleased with the layout of the house, it far exceeded even his wildest dreams, he only had in mind a small terrace much like the Dursley's home but apparently that's not how things are in the wizarding world.

"Well what do you think?" Dumbledore asked with eagerness clearly visible on his face.

"I love it, its almost perfect!" Harry exclaimed excitedly.

"Almost?" Dumbledore asked

"Yeah well I was thinking that if we are going to be getting some serious training in and research then perhaps it would benefit the house if we were to add a separate room for such activities?" Harry asked

"Yes you are quite right there, where do you suggest we locate this new room?" Dumbledore asked Harry waiting with anticipation. Harry thought Dumbledore could quite easily become an architect once the war is over if he isn't appointed headmaster again.

"I was thinking about adding it to a second floor, only over the space the living room takes up, and perhaps a balcony over the dinning and kitchen areas?" Harry suggested now getting into the planning himself.

"Excellent suggestion" Dumbledore said before he wiggled his fingers and said a few words, bringing forth the soft blue glow once more momentarily. Once the glow had faded there appeared to be an added floor and a means of getting there.

"As you can see the stairwell will be kept in a separate hallway off to the left off the house, the hallway will also connect to your room allowing for quick access at all times. It can also be accessed from the living room. Upstairs will quite simply be a copy of the living room and the balcony will be as requested." Dumbledore explained pointing to each individual part.

"Thank you sir, this is perfect, I couldn't have thought of anything even half as grand." Harry said with a grin.

"I doubt that Harry. Now to work perhaps? This are needs to be cleared away and levelled before supplies arrive, which gives us…" Dumbledore said and then glanced at his strange pocket watch that had plants surrounding the face instead of numbers or hands. "a little under 2 hours."

"Okay then sir what spells would you suggest I use?" Harry asked once again surveying the wreck that was once a happy home to a long a prestigious wizarding family.

"I should think that levitation spells for the larger debris and anything that can be burned use your elemental fire. All of the old masonry can be piled over there until we know what to do with it, the rest I think can be taken care of if you take an inch or so off the ground" Dumbledore said from his now conjured seat. Harry looked on in disbelief, kicking himself for ever suggesting this. Dumbledore was just going to sit down and relax, perhaps read a book while he did all of the backbreaking labour.

"Come on then Harry, get to it" Dumbledore said noticing that Harry had yet to start. Sighing in defeat Harry set to work, drawing his magic from his core and reciting the incantation and firing it off. The first object Harry tried to move was a very heavy support beam but after a few tries and only managing to move it centimetres he decided to give up on it and move onto something easier, coming back to it when he felt his magic could handle it. 

It took nearly three quarters of an hour to gather together all of the masonry, ten minutes solely on the heavy support beam. He had been trying for about 5 minutes to move it and still he was getting barley any results, more than earlier however when Dumbledore looked up at Harry to see what was taking him so long. He noticed the last remaining masonry and watched how Harry would handle this, there was a solution to the problem, Harry was just thinking too much inside the box to see it. Dumbledore watched for several minutes as Harry tried and tried again to levitate the heavy beam but only managing to drag it for seconds before Harry got frustrated and he stuck his hand out at the beam and shouted "Reducto". The spell hit its target with satisfying results, splitting it into two. Dumbledore chose this time to speak up.

"Harry" he said to get the boys attention. "Why did you not do that from the very beginning?" he asked

"Well I er.. I don't know" Harry said with a blank look on his face.

"This is a common problem among many people Harry, you were not thinking out of the box, I said to move everything and that is what you did, and tried to do. You had that target firmly set in your mind that you were only thinking about moving and not how you could move it. Do you understand?" Dumbledore said to him.

"Yeah I understand that, but what relevance has it to any of the problems I face?" Harry asked his mentor

"It has many. Thinking outside of the box as muggles say could give you an amazing advantage. For example fir a stunning spell at me." Dumbledore said.

"What? Why?" Harry asked the senile old man, truly believing that he was off his rocker.

"Fire a stunning spell at me, and keep trying until either you hit me or I you." Dumbledore explained.

"But sir, I cant fire any spell like that at you, not unless it was an official duel" Harry said totally surprised by his request.

"Harry it is a lesson, now please do as I say." Dumbledore commanded now.

"Fine, okay." Harry said, he took a deep breath an then he let it out with a "Stupefy" that was heading straight for him, but Harry knew he would dodge so he got ready to fire to his left or right, however he was not expecting what he did next, instead of dodging to the left or right Dumbledore bent his knees and in one giant thrust he was air born and free of the curses leaving Harry surprised and vulnerable. Dumbledore took Harry's surprised state to his advantage and fired off a stunner, which hit his mark and rendered Harry unconscious. Once his feet were firmly on the ground once more Dumbledore revived Harry with a quick "enervate".

"What happened?" was the first thing out of Harry's mouth before he remembered. "oh" he said once it was all clear In the mind.

"Oh indeed. That Harry was thinking outside of the box" Dumbledore said as he helped Harry back up to his feet.

"What spell was that?" Harry asked, referring to the flying Dumbledore.

"Well I would think that were obvious, a levitation charm, since I was the caster I could control where I wanted to go" Dumbledore explained.

"I never knew it could be used like that" Harry said with a tinge of awe in his voice. It was obvious to Harry how Dumbledore had achieved the title 'greatest sorcerer of modern time'.

"That is what thinking out of the box is, I shall give you some lessons in thinking like that, there were many things you could have done to prevent me from winning that little skirmish had you been more aware and had a broadened horizon, for example you could easily have summoned me from mid air." Dumbledore explained as he retreated back to his spot watching Harry do all of the hard work.

"Now, back to work there is still much to be done yet" Dumbledore told him before going back to his book.

Shifting the wooden debris didn't take nearly as long and in no time Harry had used his elemental magic and set a fire so intense that the small fire was soon over with leaving behind nothing but very fine ash. The next talk Harry was not looking forward to, he had to clear away an inch of land and make sure that it's level which he had no idea how to do. He considered using his elemental magic and incinerating it away but it wasn't really exercising his wandless magic so he tried to think of another way.

Minutes passed and Harry still didn't know how to clear away the rest until he got a bright idea, he spent a few moments thinking about the wand movement and then about the job he wanted it to do and when he was satisfied he stood back so that he could see the plot properly and then he began drawing his magic and performing the intricate, complicated wand movements with his hand, finishing it off with a nearly full circle that signified that he wanted the spell to only happen once. The blast of magic left Harry feeling drained but it appeared his created spell had worked. The dark purple coloured light that he fired off charged toward the plot of land, sinking closer to the ground the closer it got until it sunk into the ground as it reached the boundary of debris. A few moments passed and nothing seemed to happen, Dumbledore who had been watching this with keen interest began to think the custom spell Harry had created had gone wrong when all of a sudden the ground was lifted into the air by a cushion of purple magic where it stayed. 

Seeing the spell reach its final stage and knowing there was only a few more seconds left until the spell ran out Harry once again extended his arm and banished the debris into a pile where the once wasted rotten wooden remains of the extinct house were and with the flick of his wrist were ablaze.

Dumbledore was very impressed by what he had just witnessed, Harry had preformed advanced wandless magic and had enough energy in him to continue using it afterwards, even if he was tired. That part was not the part which amazed him the most however, what really blew him away was the very fact he could do it at all. There has never been a wizard in modern times that had been able to perform advanced spells with out a magical focus, he and Voldemort could do powerful basics and average intermediates, but if they were to attempt an advanced, complex spell such as Harry they would no doubt be hospitalized for weeks, and yet Harry did it and had energy to spare!

"Finished professor" Harry gasped out as he arrived at where Dumbledore was sitting and conjured himself a chair.

"Yes I can see that Harry. I don't suppose you know what you have just done?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Yeah, I cleared the plot liked you asked me to do" Harry said back as he rested his head on the table.

"No no not that, I mean the wandless magic, you have just performed a complex, advanced spell that most grown sorcerers would be unable to do with no use of a magical focus" Dumbledore explained, fighting with himself to remain calm. Yes indeed things were looking up for the light side.

"Your point? I thought that was what we were working up to?" Harry asked him too tired to work it any other way.

"My point my dear boy is that what you just did was deemed impossible since the time before records were kept, the most powerful of magic users only achieve a wandless magic standard of average in power intermediate skills and above average in power beginner skills, if they were to attempt anything that you just demonstrated then they would very likely put themselves in a coma or heaven." Dumbledore stated with a very intense twinkle in his eyes.

"Why am I able to do this and you cant? You have more power than me so if I can do it then surley you can?" Harry asked hopefully.

"I do?" Dumbledore asked as if hearing that he had great power for the first time. "Now what makes you think that? I never said that I had more power" Dumbledore said with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"What so now you're saying I'm more powerful than you?" Harry asked with annoyance in his voice.

"No what I am saying is that I don't remember saying it, it might be true it might not. The reason for your strong ability in wandless magic has less to do with power and more to do with means, you achieved your ability a different way to me or any other magic user in over a thousand years, it is only to be expected that the results will be varied" Dumbledore told him in his teacher voice.

"Great, another thing to set me aside" Harry complained.

"Perhaps you should take comfort in the fact that it is normal for you not to be normal?" Dumbledore asked him in which the only response was a groan from Harry.

After a few minutes rest Harry felt his energy coming back so he decided to use the spare time before the supplies arrived to look at the plans for the foundations of the house. It looked to him to be easy enough, much like he had seen when muggles were building their houses. Harry was just finishing up the plans for the foundation when there was a loud and very audible 'crack'. Spinning around to face the sound of the disturbance Harry saw a pile of stone, or rather a small mountain Harry thought sarcastically.

"Albus, Harry." Andrew said in way of greeting as if tones of stone just appearing out of no where was a normal everyday thing. Well perhaps it is for him Harry thought.

"How did you get all of this here?" Harry asked him.

"Simple really, all it takes is a mass portkey" Andrew said as if that explained it all.

"A what?" Harry asked

"A mass portkey Harry is a simple portkey on a basic level but after that it is different. While a normal portkey can be created in a matter of seconds a mass portkey takes minutes because it take more power to create, also it has to be tuned to the object that you want to transport, which means the lumber should be here any minute now" Dumbledore explained to Harry while Andrew nodded his agreement with the explanation. Just as Dumbledore finished explaining there was a second loud 'crack' and a smaller pile of lumber appeared.

"That's your lot, if you need anymore you have but to ask" Andrew said as he was about to apparate away.

"Actually we will need another shipment identical to this one in about a weeks time." Harry said.

"Another!" Andrew exclaimed

"Yeah, it turns out the plot of land is larger than I expected and I wanted to keep the house layout as close to the original as possible, which means I have to add a second story to it for the extra parts I want." Harry explained.

"Right-o, shall I charge to your account again?" Andrew asked

"Yes please, thank you for this." Harry said. Andrew nodded his head goodbye and with a loud 'pop' he was gone.

"Are you ready to begin the building Harry?" Dumbledore asked, slightly worried that Harry was still tired from the exertion of performing advanced wandless magic.

"Yeah I should be alright. I suppose I should get digging?" Harry asked referring to the foundations. Dumbledore nodded his head and began a few calculations using the amount of stone they had and the area he needed to use it in.

Once all of the digging was complete Harry proceeded with the actual stone work. Due to his elemental ability Dumbledore had decided there would be no need for cement, Harry would be able to melt the stone to join each other and that's what he did however Harry quickly found that it was hard work.

"Harry, I think you have done enough for one day, we should get washed up and eat some food." Dumbledore informed him several hours later. Both Harry and Dumbledore were surprised by the amount of work Harry had done already, only having small breaks now and then. Already the houses outside walls were taking shape and Harry had laid the foundations for the separation walls inside.

"As I understand you wish to take a trip to muggle London today also?" Dumbledore asked as Harry approached him.

"Yeah, that isn't a problem is it?" Harry asked the ex-headmaster.

"Not at all, you had better hurry however if you wish to arrive before the stores close." Dumbledore said

"Good idea, is it okay if I go on ahead and leave you to clear away here?" Harry asked him.

"Yes that is fine, it is not as if I am exhausted from the days work" said Dumbledore with a smile.

"Right" Harry said in mock irritation. Before apparating away Harry told the headmaster he would see him later tonight to work on some more magic and with a 'pop' he was gone. A few minutes later there was another 'pop' and Harry had arrived in muggle London. He had first gone to his room at the inn to clean himself up and get his motorcycle. 

"Lets see how this thing rides then" Harry said as he took the shrunk motorcycle out of his pocket and placed it on the floor. Concentrating hard of the bike enlarging again to its normal size Harry held out his hand and said the appropriate spell enlarging the bike almost at once. He was amazed that he had managed to do the spell and that it was so easy. 'Maybe that landscaping spell I used stretched my wandless channel making for easier and quicker summoning of magic form my core?" Harry speculated to himself.

Quickly checking the bike over for any signs of it still being shrunk in any place Harry couldn't see any so he jumped on the bike and started it up, making sure to leave the flying feature off, he  didn't want another mishap like in his second year when he and Ron flew his dads enchanted ford Anglia over London to reach the papers again. Once the bike was started Harry got himself accustomed o the controls and once comfortable he was satisfied that he could ride it he exited the alley he had apparated into a few blocks away from the superstore where he had got all of his muggle things from.

He enjoyed the ride immensely, the feel of the wind against his body, the feel of power the bike possessed, even the sound it made, Harry loved it all and he was a little disappointed when he came to his destination. The store was just as he remembered it to be though he had not expected it to be any different unless Voldemort himself had a grudge against this particular chain of stores and decided to travel to London and blow it up because they didn't sell the coffee that he liked. 

Chuckling to himself Harry entered the store and immediately found the electronics section and approached one of the sales persons that was there.

"Excuse me sir, I wish to purchase three laptops please." Harry said to him.

"Don't play games with me kid, I have a job to do, and that isn't babysitting!" the man spat back. Offended Harry moved to a different sales person and told her the same but this time making sure she saw his wallet open with all of the notes he had in it.

"Certainly sir, which brand do you wish to purchase?" she asked him sweetly.

"Urm… that one over there please" Harry said pointing to a laptop computer that looked identical to his.

"Okay then, if you could just follow me I will sort all of the details out, it shouldn't take longer than 5 minutes." She said to him and true to her word five minutes later he was out of there and on his way back to his bike. On his way back however Harry began to develop a painful headache, however he was pretty certain that it was not due to his scar. As he was passing a group of giggling girls he could have sworn he heard a voice in his head say "He's such a hottie" but shook it off thinking it was just his headache making him delusional but by the time he had walked past the third group of people and each time hearing something in his head Harry began 4to think that maybe this had nothing to do with the headache but maybe the headache had something to do with this. 'But what could this be?' Harry asked himself in frustration and he walked past a group of old women and receiving the information that one of them had cancer. Finally away from the crowds and groups of people Harry sighed in relief, his headache disappearing he was able to think straight, and think straight he did. Just as he reached the bike he figured out what was going on. He must have enlarged the channel from his core to his mind at the same time as the wandless magic channel, he was hearing peoples thoughts! 

Harry decided that he would just find an alley and apparate back to the inn instead of flying as he didn't feel much like taking his time in getting back and he had lessons later as well as needing to speak with Dumbledore about this new ability. So within ten minutes he was back at the inn and unloading his purchases on his bed.

"I suppose I should make a cd of all of the information they will want." Harry said to himself as he turned on his computer and started sorting through his database and research notes copying the information that was appropriate for his friends after deciding he would speak to Dumbledore about this during dinner. Once that was finished he put it all onto a cd and then he turned on each of the other laptops and loaded the data onto it, making them all almost identical to his.

Once he had got all of that out of the way Harry then started charming each laptop in the same way that he did at the beginning of the year with his own so that they would work in Hogwarts and wouldn't get crewed up from all of the residual magic about the place.

"And that makes three" Harry said as he finished the last charm for the last laptop, Ron's, and moved it onto his bedside table.

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**A/N: Well there you have it, another chapter done. Sorry nothing overly spectacular happened, and it will probably be the same for the next chapter with Harry finishing off the house and the training will begin. It will also probably be next chapter that Harry begins his new magical focus (with strange results) some action coming soon though so sit tight! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and the reviews are greatfully appreciated, they give me the drive to keep writing and posting so much. **

**Kento****: I have decided that I will not write a Harry/Ginny pairing, or any pairing for this story as I recently discovered I stink at any kind of romance writing. If you are interested in the Harry/Tonks pairing then look out for my next fic(s). thanks for taking the time to review!**

**Until next time.******

**                             GG**


	14. Magical Focus

**Harry Potter and the Rising War**

***

**Chapter 14: Magical Focus**

Dinner that evening proved to be quite surprising for the old sorcerer and ex-headmaster of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. Once Harry had arrived (In the middle of dessert for Dumbledore) he had recounted what had happened at the muggle superstore about how he seemed to be picking up random thoughts from large groups of people, but when it was just one or two people he was fine.

"My theory is that as I was increasing my ability in wandless magic or rather the channel for my magic it also increased it for my mind link and this is the outcome." Harry explained after he finished up his dessert.

"That sounds very plausible and even very probably, the question or rather questions are why did it increase the mind link as well as the wandless link and how do you learn to control or at the very least block it?" Dumbledore asked or more accurately thought out aloud.

"Perhaps we should finish this discussion in my room?" Harry asked, beginning to get nervous as more and more people arrived at the inn and his head began to ache once more.

"Yes perhaps your right, come then." Dumbledore said as he got up from his seat.

Once the student and teacher reached Harry's room and got comfortable they continued their discussion, each throwing theories around about it and disproving them and trying to come up with a way to block out the 'gift' as Dumbledore called it.

"Maybe the link was strengthened because I was using my will power to make the spell work and I was concentrating solely on it?" Harry asked as he came to the last possible explanation as to why it was strengthened. Dumbledore seemed to think about it for a few moments but eventually he came back to reality with a smile.

"I think that might be it Harry. I think because of the magical link with your scar and Voldemort it boosted your perception of other minds and because you have a particularly stubborn will it resulted in a strengthened magical channel and the ability to hear thoughts by building on the results from your scar and amplifying them. If this is the case then I think all you need to do is keep your Occulmency walls up at all times." Dumbledore explained in teacher mode once again.

"Ok that sounds like it might work, I'll try it next time I feel the effects." Harry promised.

"Excellent, now if that is all I think it is time we started with a lesson, don't you?" Dumbledore asked cheerfully.

"Yes sir, what are we going to be doing today?" Harry asked, eager to here anything the old man had to say.

"I think for the moment we will leave all previous lessons until your home is built and warded. Right now I see it prudent to sort out a new magical focus" Dumbledore said and he summoned the crystilite from the desk on the other side of the room.

"why is it so important sir? If I'm becoming proficient in wandless magic then why bother with a focus?" Harry asked confused at the logic in it.

"Tell me Harry, how did you feel after you had performed that advanced spell earlier?" Dumbledore asked

"Like I had just ran a marathon, why?" Harry asked

"Because Harry if you felt like that then what happens when you come to fight Voldemort and he starts right out using advanced spells and your only hope of defending is using them too, by the time you come to face him you will only have enough stamina to last not even 5 minutes using those types of spells." Dumbledore explained.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense. So where do we start?" Harry asked

"First I will give you some facts on crystilite that will help you when the time comes to shape it to your desire." Dumbledore said and seeing a nod from Harry he continued. "Now as you know from Mr Ollivander crystilite is a highly conductive and sometimes magical amplifying magical focus. Due to it's rarity and resistance to most means to shape it this material is highly unused. The usual method an extremely powerful wizard or sorcerer would use would be to heat it up to amazingly high temperatures and when it starts melting and is at its weakest (Which isn't much weaker) the wizard heating it will have to use raw magic to shape and mould it which is another reason why it is so under used, most magic people don't have enough control over their magic to summon any of it without a wand unless they are having an emotionally traumatic time. I assume you can summon raw magic?" Dumbledore explained in teacher tone again but added the question at the end with a twinkle in his eyes in which Harry's only reply was to grin.

"Excellent, now we both know what to do there is only one thing left to do!" Dumbledore explaimed jumping to his feet in a surprisingly agile way for a man of his age.

"Get started!" Harry explaimed excitedly and reached out for the crystilite only to have his hand slapped away by Dumbledore.

"No no, do you know what you want it to look like? Do you know how big you want it?" Dumbledore asked.

"No" Harry said sheepishly. "Not really."

"I thought as much, the last one thing to do is to plan how it is going to look" Dumbledore said as he handed Harry some parchment and ink. Sighing Harry set to work on the design, every few minutes crewing up the parchment and starting again. It was several hours after Harry had began the initial planning before he proudly presented it to Dumbledore, showing all possible angles and with markings for the size clearly written.

"Hmm" Dumbledore said as he looked over them. "Everything looks to be in order here, a very original concept, I assume you know where to get the extra materials?" Dumbledore asked looking at Harry over the top of his half moon spectacles.

"I think the store just up the road sells that sort of stuff there, I black smiths I think." Harry told him.

"Excellent, then you may proceed with the moulding, however be sure to accommodate and alter it to the needs of the extra materials otherwise you will have a hard time bringing it all together." Dumbledore warned.

"I will sir, shall I place any charms around the room or anything before I begin?" Harry asked unsure of the reaction the substance will have to such intense elemental heat as Harry had.

"No I think everything should be fine, now all you need to remember is to keep control of the fire and don't let it burn anything else aside from the crystilite and when it looked to you that it is softening begin your moulding. Ok?" Dumbledore explained and upon seeing Harry's nervous face asked him.

"What if I go wrong?" Harry asked

"There is nothing to be worried about, crystilite is virtually indestructible, the only known thing that could weaken it is intense heat and to generate enough of that to destroy it would be to expose it to temperatures only reached by stars" Dumbledore reassured. It seemed to be doing the trick because Harry now looked more comfortable with what he was about to do.

"Here goes nothing then" said Harry as he placed the crystilite on the desk and summoned a flame into his hand. Once he was sure that he had it the right size Harry levitated the crystilite into the air and directed the elemental flame to the crystilite and commanded it to wrap itself around it and increase the temperature. After a few minutes of the temperature of the crystilite increasing Harry began to develop beads of sweat on his forehead. 

"Not long left Harry, another few seconds, get your magic read and when I say now direct it with your mind link and mould the crystilite" Dumbledore said softly so he didn't brake Harry's ocnentration. A slight nod from Harry showed that he understood what Dumbledore had said and was preparing himself. Another few moments later and a soft emerald green and silver much like his aura's glow had enveloped Harry's right hand.

"Get ready, 3…2…1…now!" Dumbledore commanded and at once the flame was banished and now there was a soft green glow surrounding the crystilite with one of Harry's hands hovering over it. Harry's face was screwed up in concentration and he appeared to be having difficulty with it but after a few seconds (And an eternity to Harry) the crystilite separated into two and began moulding and changing shape and size. Sweat was now dripping from Harry and his shirt was clinking to his body looking like Harry had just gone for a swim fully clothed. Shortly after the initial separation of the crystilite there was once more smaller separation and then that piece separated again and again until all that remained were 5 small pieces and 2 large ones.

"That's it Harry, nearly done. A little more." Dumbledore said softy, encouraging Harry.

A few moments later there was a flash of green/silver magical glow and a hiss of something cooling rapidly and then a thump. It looked like Harry had successfully accomplished his task, lying on the floor were two separate pieces of large crystilite and ten smaller ones. The largest piece was round and flat but not a perfect circle or ellipse but an irregular shape. The next largest pieces was shaped almost the same but half the size and a 'corner' missing. the 5 small pieces were hollow cylinders almost, not very long, about 15 centimetres each and having a hole in the ends of it and at the end of them what could only be explained as claws were there and at the other end their appeared to be a top cover that extended back and got smaller the farthest it went.

"Are you okay Harry?" Dumbledore asked rushing over to Harry's side.

"Yeah… just a little… out of breath… and tired" Harry panted out between heavy breaths.

"You have done I fine job, I suggest you get some rest now, it will be another long day tomorrow and I expect you will need all of the energy you can get" Dumbledore said as he guided Harry to his bed and gathered up the individual pieces to Harry's soon to be magical focus.

"Goodnight Harry" Dumbledore said heading out of the room.

"G'night sir" Harry mumbled out all ready half asleep, to tired to even attempt to get to his magical core.

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The next morning Harry was woken again by Dumbledore but this time it was later and Dumbledore was a little more considerate to his need to be woken softly.

"Good morning Harry, I trust you slept well?" Dumbledore asked when he noticed that Harry was getting up.

"Fine thanks" Harry replied sleepily walking across the room to gather some clean cloths having slept in yesterdays.

"I shall wait for you in the dinning area" Dumbledore said.

"M'kay" Harry mumbled out.

Fifteen minutes later Harry arrived in the dinning area and joined Dumbledore with breakfast.

"I think I'll skip doing any exercises today" Harry told him, nibbling on some toast.

"Are you still tired from yesterday?" Dumbledore asked

"No but as you said I'll need all the energy I can get." Harry said with a grin.

As Harry and Dumbledore walked down the streets of the small village of Godrics hollow they chatted to each other as if they were long time friends not displaying the air of respect that is natural with a teacher and student. They had to stop their conversations several times for Harry to say good morning to several local villagers that they passed on their way to their site.

"I think at the rate we are progressing we should have everything up and ready by the end of the week." Dumbledore commented as he surveyed yesterdays work.

"But wont it go faster if I used my new magical focus?" Harry asked as he too surveyed the area.

"Yes I imagine it would vastly improve the time in which it takes to build, but it will also slow your improvement in wandless magic by once again giving you a crutch to lean on so to speak" Dumbledore explained.

"I see, so I just got to keep going with wandless magic then until the house is finished? Well we better get started then, what's first?" Harry asked Dumbledore as they both spread the plans out once more.

Once they had decided to where to start Harry set off with his work using a combination of wandless and elemental magic to set the stone and melt it to form a solid wall. By the time lunch time arrived Harry had completed the dinning room and kitchen walls and was currently building the front wall of the living room.

"I think it might be wise to take a break" Dumbledore spoke up.

"What time is it sir?" Harry asked the old man.

"Twelve thirty by my watch, perhaps you should collect the remaining materials for your focus while I contact Andrew and ask for an earlier delivery date." Dumbledore answered.

"Okay sir, I suppose now would be a good time to see if the Occulmency theory will work?" Harry asked.

"Yes that would be a good idea, make sure your walls are built strong and let your subconscious do the rest. I think given time this will be a system that will come naturally to you, much like breathing." Dumbledore explained.

"I hope so otherwise I would have to become a hermit in order to retain at least a semblance of my sanity" Harry replied with a grin earning a chuckle from the ex-headmaster.

"Off you go then" Dumbledore said.

Arriving back in town Harry could already feel a headache coming on, it seemed that the days wandless magic was already strengthening this 'talent'. Taking several deep breaths to calm himself Harry began to clear his mind, he organised all of his thoughts and memories into different 'sections' of his brain and then left a small section for the thoughts of the people around him, making sure that he could control when and when not to access it.

"Here goes nothing" Harry breathed out as he strolled up the main street of the village towards the black smiths. Half way to his destination Harry passed a small group of wives exchanging gossip and to his immense relief he didn't hear a word or thought, he didn't even get a headache at all.

"Thank you who ever is listening!" Harry whispered as he came to the door for the blacksmiths. Entering the establishment was like stepping back in time to the medieval times where such a sight was common place, there were furnaces, barrels, anvils and other common items one would have expected to find. Squinting through the darkness towards the back of the room Harry spotted a short stocky man who looked to preparing himself for a job. 

Harry approached the man at the end of the store and asked "Do you sell just raw materials here?" 

The man looked up from the tools he was gathering together and smiled. "Certainly do young man, what can I gettcha?" he asked.

"Well I don't know how much of it I need but I would like some leather and some metal." Harry replied to him

"Hmm, the leather is easy but for the metal I'll need something a little more specific, we have many selections here." The man said, motioning all around him, and for the first time Harry noticed all of the different types of metals hanging about the store, in much the same fashion as Andrews store had been with all of the stone and wood samples.

"Well I need something that will conduct Magic easily to retain charms, but also needs to be durable." Harry explained to the man who appeared to be thinking hard to himself. After a few moments of silence the man seemed to come back to reality and said "I think I have just the thing, follow me please sir" and walked off to the middle of the store to a small display cabinet.

"This is some of the finest metal you can find, its hard to come by now though." He explained to Harry as he slide the glass back and extracted the sample piece.

"Why is that?" Harry asked wondering what was so special about this metal, it appeared to be just a regular lump to him that had been highly polished to almost mirror perfect.

"Because dwarfs don't tend to sell it off much any more, don't trust us wizards you see." He explained.

"And it meets all of the requirements?" Harry asked.

"It does indeed, though as well as conducting magic it is also an extremely powerful electrical conductor, the resistance to it is minimal and the loss of charge is hardly noticeable."

"How do you know about electricity?" Harry asked. "Most wizards I've met don't even have a clue about how to pronounce it let alone know about conductors and such." Harry said

"Ah well you don't know as much as I do about metal and not know about electricity. Now about the metal, will it do you?" he explained with a reminiscent smile on his face but snapped back to reality quickly.

"Yes sir, and the leather please." Harry replied.

"The metal will be twenty Galleons for this lump here" he said holding up an fist sized lump. "and a Galleon per foot square of leather"

Harry dug around for his bag of money but realised that he didn't have any on him. As Harry pulled his hand out of his last pocket he also pulled out his wallet which fell open onto the floor showing the contents. As Harry bent down to pick it up his eyes caught sight of a shiny bit of plastic and Harry all of a sudden remembered his Grinngotts credit card he had received at the beginning of the year on his first visit to Diagon alley disguised as the bald thirty year old man.

"Will you accept this sir?" Harry asked as he stood up once more and extended the card towards the man who surveyed it critically for a few moments before nodding his head.

"Aye it'll do, you must have a lot of money to carry one of those things around with you" he commented as he was running the card through a strange object that Harry supposed made the purchase from his vault.

"Yeah I got quite a lot of money when my parents were killed and again when my godfather was killed" Harry said sullenly.

"Oh, hey does that mean your Harry Potter?!" the man asked excitedly.

"Yeah, unfortunately" Harry said with a sigh

"I didn't think all of the rumours were true, so you really have come back to Godrics Hollow? Excellent, it's about time we had a founder around. Oh my name is Pete by the way." Pete exclaimed excitedly, while he collected together Harry's purchases.

"Here y'are mister Potter, if you ever need anything else don't hesitate to drop in" Pete said as he shock Harry's hand and walked him to the door.

"I swear if one more person comes up to me and starts swooning I'll…" Harry growled out to Dumbledore leaving the threat hanging.

"I take it that you were swarmed?" Dumbledore asked innocently and with no trace of humour on his aged face except for in his twinkling blue eyes.

"You could call it that, all though I would call it mobbed!" replied Harry.

"I see. Well if it helps to know then we probably won't be needing to go into town again for anything else except to get to and from the inn" Dumbledore said.

"Not really." Harry replied shortly. "What did Andrew say?" Harry asked as he sat at the table that Dumbledore had conjured.

"He said he shall bring them the day after tomorrow, so you had better set off back to work if you hope to clear all of this for the new arrivals" Dumbledore said as he once again made himself comfortable at the table and picked up a book leaving Harry to do all of the hard work. 

Once the work was finished for the day Harry and Dumbledore returned to the inn after clearing away all of their things and covering the supplies with waterproof charms. As they sat at dinner they discussed what they would be doing tonight. 

"Did you get the required items?" Dumbledore asked for the first time.

"Yes sir, the metal I got was apparently mined by dwarves and will hold charms comfortably" Harry explained 

"Excellent, then you will be able to finish it tonight and we shall see how it handles" Dumbledore said excitedly. Apparently in all of his years he had not seen crystilite used before.

Once they had both finished their dessert they again made leave from the dinning area to Harry's room.

"So where do you think I should begin sir?" Harry asked Dumbledore once he had collected together all of the separate bits and pieces.

"I think you should begin by positioning the crystilite and then taking the appropriate measurements. Once you have that out of the way you should cut your materials." Dumbledore suggested and Harry being the smart boy that he was decided that if Dumbledore thought something was a good idea then nine times out of ten it was and he should run with it.

"Excellent, I think that should do it." Dumbledore spoke up as Harry finished the last measurement. "Now you will need to shape and cut everything before putting it together, while you do that I will prepare a few tests for you to perform." Dumbledore said and so Harry set off using his elemental and wandless magic to shape, cut and mould the metal and the leather until an hour or so later he was finished. Before him sat on a velvet cushion was the magical focus that Harry had made. Its finished appearance was that of a glove. The two largest parts of the crystilite formed the cover for the front and back of the hand, the biggest covering from where the hand bent at the wrist to the knuckles and the smaller one with the section missing covered the lower half of his palm, starting where the hand bent at the wrist to where it folded just below the fingers and the section that was missing made room for the thumb to move. One the top of the 'glove' several bits of metal were extended from the crystilite covering the bottom of each finger and joining each clawed finger cover of crystilite. Each metal piece was split at the end into two 'prongs', one on each side of the crystilite finger cover and pinned into place at the top of it and with several charms for durability. The two largest sections of crystilite were joined at the sides by leather and a slight leather sleeve extended up the arm to about midpoint between wrist and elbow. Much of the palm had been left exposed so the magic flowed easier.

"Finished" Harry breathed partly from exhaustion and partly from awe at what he had created. Dumbledore picked that point in time to enter the room with a few pieces of equipment.

"My what a fine magical artefact" he said as he surveyed Harry's creation.

"Thank you sir" Harry said

"Now to test it out. I want you to transfigure that bit of leather into a stag and then animate it" Dumbledore said as he handed Harry a spare piece of leather that had been left over from the construction. Har4ry nodded his head to show that he understood what he had to do and he carefully and slowly reached over to his glove and picked it up, savouring the anticipation that was thick in the room. As he slipped his hand into the magical glove he immediately felt magic being drawn from his core to be stored for quick access in the near future and when Harry looked at the glove his breath caught, he had never expected anything as spectacular as what he was seeing now. The magic that was being summoned was not only being stored in his pool he created for wandless magic but in the crystilite also but it wasn't a calm pool of magic, rather a storm of it for every now and then a fork of lightning type raw emerald green magic would run around the surface of his glove and sometime break away for a second, it was as though Harry held a lightning storm of magic in his hand.

"This feels great!" Harry exclaimed enjoying the feel of easily drawn magic in his control at a greater degree than any wand could provide.

"It certainly looks powerful" Dumbledore commented bringing Harry back to reality.

"Oh yeah the transfiguration" Harry said sheepishly. He held up his hand and aimed it at the leather and began to command his magic and will it to change the leather. To Harry's great surprise and happiness it took little more than an image in his head and half the energy it usually took to do the spell.

"Excellent work Harry, how was it doing the spell?" Dumbledore asked going into research mode now.

"It was easier, I needed less will power and only about half the energy to work it, it felt easy" Harry explained

"Okay, now try animating it." Dumbledore suggested. Again Harry pointed his hand and willed the spell to work, however this time it took more will power and energy but that was to be expected with a spell of such complexity as that. As soon as the stag started walking around the room Dumbledore broke into a proud smile. "Very well done Harry. You never cease to amaze me, not many people at all would have been able to successfully create their own magical focus, but you did with perfect result." Said Dumbledore.

"Thank you sir, I'm not surprised that not many people can do it, it takes a lot out of you." Harry said with a smile.

"Now tell me is there anything else unique about the glove?" inquired the old sorcerer.

"Yes there is actually, I overlooked it with the first spell I used but after the second I felt it, as soon as I use magic the glove summons more from my core straight away." Harry said still with the smile on his face.

"That is very advantageous for you Harry. Now if you would get rid of the stag we could do the final test." Dumbledore said as he picked up the strange equipment he had entered the room with.

Once the stag was gone and Dumbledore had set up the equipment he asked Harry to sit in the chair before it.

"All you need to do is place your hand on this here" Dumbledore said as he motioned to the flat bit of the equipment that looked like a bit of cardboard. "And say the spell 'Magicaus Revalio' and it will display your magic level here" Dumbledore said as he pointed to the parchment that was clipped to a small stand.

Doing as he was instructed Harry placed the hand with the glove on the sensor thing and spoke the spell and almost straight away it revealed his magic level which was nothing he had expected or hoped to achieve in his life.

**A/N There you are, another chapter for you to (hopefully) enjoy. I thank everyone for their reviews and hope that you are all enjoying the fic, more will be on its way soon!**

**Until next time.**

**                             GG**


	15. Moving In

Harry Potter and the Rising War  
  
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Chapter 15: Moving In  
  
In the days that followed the completion of Harry's glove, and the initial testing, Harry remained furiously busy, and time seemed to fly by. His lessons with Dumbledore were proceeding steadily again, and his research of his second animagus form was nearly complete. He hoped that within a few more weeks he would have it mastered. In no time at all, the house was nearing completion; all that remained to be finished was the roof. Harry planned to do it that very evening. But first he and Dumbledore had to pay a visit to Diagon alley once again. They needed to pick up all of the items that one would normally find in a household – or, at least, in a wizard's household.  
  
Harry and Dumbledore had been staying at the cosy little inn for a little over a week. The night before they were due to move into his house, Harry decided he had better tidy his room a little; he didn't want to hold Dumbledore up when the time came to say their goodbyes. As Harry was collecting together the last of his possessions, his hand bumped something hard under his bed. With his brow furrowed in confusion, Harry got down almost underneath the bed to see what it was that he had found. With a gasp, Harry remembered something that he had meant to do right when he'd first arrived at Godric's Hollow. Getting to his feet again, Harry spread the three forgotten items over the bed: the laptops that he had bought for Hermione, Ron and Ginny.  
  
"How am I going to get these into Hogwarts without Fudge knowing?" Harry murmured. He sat in quiet contemplation for a few minutes, but had failed to notice the presence of Tronza! His faithful (if a little pompous) phoenix had mysteriously arrived in Harry's room. He and Fawkes had disappeared together to go exploring at the beginning of Harry and Dumbledore's little adventure, until they had a permanent home. Tronza sang a few notes of phoenix song to announce his return, which succeeded in startling Harry from his contemplative state.  
  
"Tronza!" Harry exclaimed happily as he crossed the room to his familiar. "Did you and Fawkes have fun while you were away?" Harry asked the beautiful bird as he stroked its plumage. Tronza trilled in reply and hopped up onto Harry's shoulder.  
  
"It's good to have you back here, pal," Harry told him, and again sat on his bed to consider how to get the laptops to the others unhindered. But as soon as he sat, he jumped back on his feet again, struck with a very obvious idea. "How could I have been so stupid not to have realized it in the beginning?" he thought. Harry picked his companion up from his shoulder, and carefully put him back down on the bedside table, saying, "Hey, Boy, I have a delivery for you to make for me! But I need you to go a little later tonight, and to use your phoenix magic; no one can see you enter the castle. Okay?" Harry asked; and in reply, Tronza flapped his wings excitedly, earning a light laugh from Harry.  
  
A few hours later, Tronza was ready to go, with the laptops firmly tied in place, and a scroll of parchment attached on top of the parcel.  
  
"Take this to the dormitory for the 6th year Gryffindor boys, and don't leave until Ron has taken the parcel from you personally. Got it?" Harry asked, and the phoenix replied with a short trill of indignation, for suggesting that he might let just anyone take the mail. Harry ignored the meaning of the trill, gave him one last pet, and let him go; then he finished up his chores and went to bed.  
  
The next morning, Tronza had yet to return; but Harry figured that was because the phoenix couldn't get Ron to wake up; so he would've had to wait until morning to rouse him.  
  
"Are you ready to go?" Dumbledore asked Harry.  
  
"Yeah, just about; I hope the weather holds up!" Harry replied, as he glanced at the ominous sky which threatened rain and thunder.  
  
"Yes indeed, it would just be our luck to be stuck in a downpour with all of our purchases in hand," Dumbledore said, as they exited the inn for the last time. (Dumbledore had apparently taken care of their bill earlier that morning.) They walked to the edge of the town, passed through the newly erected anti-apparation wards, and apparated to Diagon alley.  
  
As they walked down the busy street, they once again drew the attention of many passers-by; and often people would stop to watch what the amazing Boy-Who-Lived and the greatest sorcerer of modern times would do next.  
  
"Here we go again," Harry muttered under his breath to Dumbledore, gaining a light chuckle from the aged ex-headmaster.  
  
"At least we have no need to shop on this street this morning," Dumbledore commented cheerfully. Before Harry had a chance to ask where they would be shopping if not in Diagon alley, Dumbledore turned down a side-street that Harry had never noticed before – and no wonder. It was right at the very end of the street, far away from any of the usual shops that he visited. The alley itself was called Extern Alley, and appeared to be filled with shops dealing with domestic magic and goods, from simple cleaning items to grand furniture stores.  
  
"Here we are, then. I think before you buy anything, it would be wise to scout out what several of the stores have to offer, and go with a theme. It would not do for the saviour of the wizarding world, and prestigious heir of the Potter, Black and Gryffindor line, to be living in a home that looked like it had been decorated by the Weasley twins and the Marauders!" Dumbledore quipped, eyes twinkling as usual.  
  
Harry decided to take Dumbledore's advice. They split up, and scouted the numerous shops and stores along the alleyway for 2 hours. Then they met up once again at the end of the alley, and compared all that they had seen.  
  
Two more hours later, the teacher and student left the alley and returned to the main wizarding shopping district, carrying several bags and charmed objects.   
  
Altogether, Harry had bought for his home two black sofas for the living room; a large white rug that would cover a large portion of the dark wood floor; decorative fireplace ornaments (such as a realistic phoenix statue that would sit in the centre of the fireplace amid the flames, and looked like a phoenix rising from the ashes).  
  
For either side of the fireplace, he bought two statues of a bird called the Quetzalcoatl, which was a cousin of the phoenix. It looked exactly like the phoenix, and had the same properties – except instead of being a bird of fire, it was a bird of lightning; and instead of being red and gold, it was emerald green and silver. Dumbledore had explained its properties when Harry had seen it. He was actually thinking about buying such a bird, but Dumbledore told him that they were extinct. It seems that wizards had thought that they could harness the weather if they had one; but once the birds were captured, they died mere months later, because they didn't like being in captivity.  
  
For the kitchen, Harry had simply bought lots of food and some magical appliances. He had also picked out the necessary things for the bathrooms. For the bedrooms, he had chosen large four- poster luxurious beds, much like those at Hogwarts but less worn looking; also large rugs, dressers and wardrobe units.  
  
The dining room was to be perhaps the most extravagant and luxurious room in the entire house. The grand table that continued the dark wood theme would sit in the centre of the room, and fill a large portion of it. All around the room were to be portraits and landscapes, and some enlarged pictures of Harry's friends and family. He was even lucky enough to find a portrait of Godric Gryffindor himself. There were also shelves, trays and magical tools for the layout and preparation of foods for self-service. Along one of the walls, Harry planned to put a large tapestry showing the Potter family line; having it made up would set him back a large amount. For the upstairs room, Harry had bought only a few pieces of furniture. He would leave the rest alone for now, so he could set it up and equip it properly at a later date.  
  
"So, can we go now?" Harry asked eagerly, hoping to get away from all of the prying eyes and curiosity-seekers.  
  
"Yes, I believe that we have spent enough time here; we have yet to finish the house, and by the look of the weather, we don't have much time," Dumbledore said, as he now glanced at the sky, which had surprisingly held off so far. Harry was just about to reply to Dumbledore when a large crowd of witches and wizards surrounded them, separating them, and bombarded them with rapid-fire questions. In all of the reporters' excitement, Harry had lost sight of Dumbledore, and began to feel a little uneasy.  
  
"Mr. Potter, can you tell us the circumstances of your expulsion?" one reporter asked Harry, or rather shouted at him over the large crowd.   
  
"Harry, is it true that it was the ex-headmaster of Hogwarts that expelled you?" another shouted.   
  
Harry was beginning to get fed up with all of the reporters bombarding him with questions and surrounding him so he could not get free. He was just about to do something drastic, when he caught sight of a 'reporter' at the front of the crowd. This particular 'reporter,' Harry noticed, did not look like the others; he wasn't desperately trying to get Harry to answer questions or gain his attention, he was just looking at Harry with a blank expression on his face, and standing perfectly still except when another witch or wizard jostled him. Harry was just about to confront the man when he was nudged rather forcefully from behind, making him lose sight of the strange 'reporter.' Before he could regain his line of sight, he was hit with the agonizing pain of the Cruciatus curse, and fell to his knees. Almost at once, the crowd of reporters frantically backed away from Harry and the man, leaving Harry to be tortured at the hands of the obviously dark wizard before him.  
  
"So this is the great Harry Potter everyone fears so much, hmm?" he sneered, once he let the curse go. "You're nothing without your precious Dumbledore at your side to protect you," He snarled. During this short speech, Harry had managed to make it to his feet and regain his bearings. He was still trembling from the unforgivable curse, and his skin itched with pain as his nerves and muscles occasionally gave a spasm.  
  
Gasping for air, Harry choked out, "Who are you?" to the man. If he was a Death Eater, Harry was willing to bet that he was one of those that Tom had broken out of Azkaban, both from his words, and also because he had not seen this particular man at Riddle's rebirthing ceremony.  
  
"Who am I? Who am I? That is a good question. I know what I am; I know when I am; but do I know who I am? No, I don't, because people like you took that away from me when you threw me and my wife into Azkaban!" the death eater roared as he levelled his wand at Harry.   
  
At that moment, Harry figured out who the man was. He had not heard of any other Death Eater couples who had been sentenced to Azkaban, let alone escaped. "Lestrange," he growled, almost like his animagus' growl.  
  
"So, you're not as stupid as they say. Serpensortia!" he said, yelling the curse. He obviously wasn't well-updated, or as smart as he thought.  
  
"Someone called me stupid?" Harry asked calmly as the snake approached. When it was barely a meter away, Harry hissed at it: "*Stop!*" he said in Parseltongue, drawing a collective gasp from his audience.  
  
"*Attack that man now,*" Harry commanded it, hoping to use Lestrange's moment of shock to his advantage. The snake slithered quickly back over to its summoner, and in the blink of an eye, it had pounced onto him. It was just about to bite him when Lestrange awakened from his shock and screamed out, scrambling his arms trying to get the snake off him. Several moments later, he was free of the snake and had banished it, and was again ready to curse Harry. In the time that it took Lestrange to rid himself of the serpent, Harry had quickly gone through his options about how to deal with the Death Eater. He was reluctant to use his magic, because whichever sort of magic he used, it would give away his immense power to the reporters, and ultimately to Riddle. He was saved from making any kind of decision, because just before Lestrange was going to curse him again, he was stunned from behind. A moment later, Dumbledore stepped over the body.  
  
"I am sorry I took so long getting here, Harry; the crowd would not let me pass, and you were a fair distance away," Dumbledore said gravely.  
  
"It's fine, sir; you got here in time, and that's all that matters," Harry replied wearily. Being cursed with the Cruciatus had exhausted him.  
  
"I think we had better head back as soon as the ministry arrives. I have a potion that will help you," Dumbledore said. Just then, there were several pops announcing the arrival, late as usual, of ministry officials.  
  
"What's going on here?" one of the new arrivals harshly asked; then he spotted Harry and strode up to him, almost nose to nose. "Potter! I should have known. You're always causing trouble. It seems that no-good muggle-loving Dumbledore actually did something right by expelling you before he was booted out!" he said, in what he must have thought was a threatening tone. When the crowd heard what the official had said, most of them gasped in surprise, but less due to what was said, and more for in front of whom it was said.  
  
"Regardless of my views on muggles or my dismissal from Hogwarts, I am still chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and as such, I am your superior," Dumbledore said in his headmaster's voice from behind the man, whose face went white in shock.  
  
"And furthermore, Mr Smyth, it is my right to punish you for slandering me in public. Do you know what an offence of this sort is punishable by?" Dumbledore asked. Smyth shook his head. "Dismissal."  
  
"P-please, s-sir, I have a-a family to take care of!" Smyth stuttered.  
  
"Consider yourself lucky, then, that it was me that you were bad-mouthing, and not another of your superiors. I have no intention of dismissing you; but you had better find a better attitude toward people before you go jumping into any future confrontations. Now, I believe you owe Mr Potter and myself an apology?" Dumbledore said, returning to his normal jolly voice.  
  
"Yes – sir. I'm very sorry, to both you and Mr Potter; I was acting without thinking. I'm… I'm sorry," Smyth said, and as soon as he got it over with, he skulked off somewhere away from the reporters.  
  
"Prof… er… Mr Dumbledore sir, can you tell me what happened?" another official asked after he witnessed the confrontation between his colleague and the greatest magic user of modern times.  
  
"I am afraid that while the reporters were ambushing me and Mr Potter, one of Voldemort's followers saw an opportunity only an insane man would take, and he took it. His probable insanity, alas, only made matters worse for him. I believe he held Mr Potter under the Cruciatus curse, and then tried to use the Serpensortia spell to attack him. Luckily, Mr Potter was able to command the snake to return the attack on Lestrange, which kept him occupied long enough for me to arrive and stun him from behind," Dumbledore explained to the man, who had it written down using a Quick-Quotes-Quill.  
  
"Thank you sir, I think that will be everything we need. By the looks of the weather, I would say it would be a good idea to get home, especially if young Mr Potter there was cursed," the man said with a genuine smile on his face.  
  
"Good day to you," Dumbledore said, as he and Harry left the crowd and quickly made their way to the designated apparation point.  
  
Two faint 'pops' later and Harry and Dumbledore were once again strolling along the streets in the small village of Godric's Hollow.  
  
"We had best hurry, due to the impending weather. Once we get to your house, I shall give you a potion to counter the effects of the curse," Dumbledore said as the house came into view.  
  
"Thank you, sir," Harry said wearily, which Dumbledore did not fail to notice. Once they got to the house, they both went inside and set their purchases down. Dumbledore began digging through a trunk that he had enlarged, while Harry went over to his waiting phoenix, Tronza.  
  
"Hey, boy, can you go and wait in my room? I have a few things to do before I can write a reply, or even read Ron's, for that matter," Harry asked him. Tronza gave him the usual trilled reply, before he vanished in a burst of flames.  
  
"Aha!" Dumbledore cried, as he pulled out a vial of gooey green potion, and handed it to Harry. He smiled with amusement at the disgusted look plastered on Harry's face at the prospect of ingesting such vileness.  
  
"Go ahead, it's best to get it over with," Dumbledore said.  
  
"Ergh! It looks like something Dudley produces when he actually reaches his limit of food intake!" Harry commented, his face turning a matching green.  
  
"Don't worry, it looks worse than it tastes," replied Dumbledore.  
  
"Why did you have this potion brewed, anyway?" Harry questioned suspiciously, after all no sane (or even insane) person would even dare to think about cursing Dumbledore with the Cruciatus – except maybe Riddle, hoping to buy some time.  
  
"Given trouble's … shall we say, attraction to you? Yes. Given trouble's attraction to you, I thought it would be a good idea to have an inventory of potions at the ready, in case something did go wrong," Dumbledore laughed. "Now, hurry up and finish off the potion, and then you can go and finish the roof before it starts to rain too heavily. I think I will make an allowance this one time and let you use your glove," Dumbledore said.  
  
"You are so generous," Harry commented dryly, and then downed the potion in one gulp, bypassing most of his taste buds, but unfortunately for him, not all of them.  
  
"Yuck! That has to be the most awful tasting potio…" Harry began but was interrupted by a loud clap of thunder.  
  
"Oh great, looks like I won't beat the weather after all, then," he said as he reached for his outdoor cloak.  
  
"I told you to hurry, but you insisted on stalling," Dumbledore said with amusement on his face once more.  
  
"Would you drink that potion straight away if you could get away with stalling?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yes; and now I believe you are stalling once again. I suggest you hurry if you don't want any damage to your house; those charms wont hold out forever, you know," Dumbledore said.  
  
"Fine, but I expect to see all of that stuff enlarged and in their right rooms when I come back," Harry said, as if he actually had any command over the sorcerer.  
  
"Your wish …" Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes.  
  
With a 'humph,' Harry went outside once again into the now pouring rain, levitated himself up onto the roof, and began weaving spells with the slate he was using to give it extra durability and resistance to the elements. He was about midway through his work when something happened that he both didn't expect and didn't think possible. He was just summoning more slate overhead, while his arm was aimed straight up. It happened in an instant, but Harry would remember it forever. In that instant there was a blinding flash of light, a charged feeling within himself, and a burst of both physical and magical energy which resulted in the rest of the roof being fixed together, spells and all, straight away and in one go.  
  
"Harry, finished already?" Dumbledore asked, as Harry came back in and used a wordless drying charm on himself.  
  
"Yeah, I – er – well, I don't know how it happened, it was so quick."  
  
"What, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, alarmed.  
  
"It was amazing! I felt so energized, but the whole thing took less than a second," Harry said cryptically.  
  
"Harry, will you please slow down and tell me what happened?" Dumbledore asked urgently. Gathering his wits, Harry sat down on one of the chairs that Dumbledore had enlarged for the dining room.  
  
"I was on the roof, finishing up slating it. In the middle of levitating over some more slate, there was a flash of bright light, and I felt energized – not like when someone has too much coffee, but like I could do anything! My magic felt pumped too, and I know it was – because in that brief half a second or so, I was able to finish the entire roof: slate, spells and all," Harry said, still in a little shock.  
  
"Well that is indeed strange; I have never heard of such a thing happening before. It might have something to do with the glove that you are using, in conjunction with the different method of wandless magic that you have developed," Dumbledore said, and then he too sat down and thought for a few minutes. "Whatever it was, I don't think we have anything to worry about at the moment. There isn't even much we need to do about it, unless someone else sees it happen. Until then I suggest we go about life normally," Dumbledore said, earning a snort from Harry at his comment about normality.  
  
"Speak for yourself! Since when has anything, including life, been normal for me?" Harry asked bitterly.  
  
"You just have to take what life throws at you, Harry; that is what's normal in life," Dumbledore said, rising to his feet. "Now, I think it would be a good idea to get the rest of this stuff unpacked so we can go to bed. It has been a long day."  
  
Later that night, while Harry was lying in his new bed and going through all of the events of the week, he couldn't help but wonder whether his magic-level test might have been inaccurate. After all, he had achieved so much compared to Dumbledore, to still be weaker than him by one level. But then again, a level 5 out of 7 was nothing to frown at; and battles never relied solely on magical strength. Maybe – just maybe – he really would kill Riddle, once and for all, when the time came.

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**A/N: I thank everyone that reviewed, it means a lot reading all of the great comments you have taken the time to write and I appreciate the suggestions some give. Hope you liked the chapter the next one should be out soon. Also I would like to say a big thank you to my beta reader who is very patiently trying to get me to see the light so to speak of grammar :D**

**Until Next Time **

**                                    GG**


	16. Betrayed

Chapter 16: Betrayed  
  
The months following the completion of the house seemed to pass by in a whirl for Harry. He spent most of his time with Dumbledore in his apprentice studies, or researching. The time that he didn't spend learning, he spent teaching. The reply that he had received via Tronza turned out to be not from Ron, but from Hermione. She had apparently spent some time researching the laptops and enchantments Harry had used, and then had come up with a combination of spells that would allow for easier communications between the four of them. Harry immediately followed the steps Hermione had laid out on how to add himself to the 'Magicnet,' as she called it. So now they all spent every evening logged on and learning from Harry, who even went so far as to create a (very) mediocre variation on a website, to help them visualise some of the concepts that he was explaining. They didn't just spend all of their online time learning, however. Due to Fudge's restrictions on contact with Harry, they would also spend a good amount of time talking. Or rather, Hermione and Harry would type, while Ron and Ginny would narrate what they wanted Hermione to type for them, as they were from a pureblood wizarding family, and weren't as familiar with the layout of the keyboard as Hermione was.  
  
Lessons with Dumbledore were upped a notch, as Dumbledore had worded it, once they got back into their routine following the completion of the house – especially now that Harry had a new (and more powerful) magical focus at his disposal. They now followed this schedule: in the mornings before breakfast, Harry would get all of his physical exercises out of the way, while Dumbledore prepared the duelling arena to simulate different situations, from a forest to a full-scale battlefield. After the exercise, Harry would clean up while Dumbledore cooked or prepared breakfast; and then they would both have a mock duel in which Harry would hone his skills, using both wandless (or rather focusless) magic and focus magic. After the duel, the two would sit down and watch a replay of it, thanks to a magically-improved camera on Harry's laptop that would follow the targets and always keep them in its sight. During the replay of the duel, Dumbledore would comment on certain areas that Harry needed to improve upon, or that he had already shown improvement in; and then they would discuss what Harry could have done differently, especially regarding "thinking outside the box."  
  
After their duel and discussion session, they would both have a light lunch, and then turn their attention to one of Harry's many research projects; but they usually ended up going back to the Multimagus form, as it was nearing completion. Already they had added another ability to Harry's growing list. It was Dumbledore's idea, actually. He had thought of it one night after reading Harry's research into wandless magic, and he broached the subject during one of their research sessions. The ability and procedure to attain it were remarkably simple, and even Dumbledore was able to achieve it. It was simply the creation of a magic channel-pool in the left hand and halfway up the arm, but not attached to their core – save for the tiniest of strands that allowed only small spurts of magic to pass. This technique let them draw free magic from the environment into the channel-pool, and either mould it or release it harmlessly – meaning that any curse that was fired at them, whether from a weak, medium or moderately powerful wizard, could be absorbed, moulded with a small burst of magic, and then either thrown back or released.  
  
After the research session, Dumbledore tutored Harry, drawing on his vast knowledge of the wizarding world. These lessons included spells, and similar magical knowledge. Some of this effort was redundant, because Harry already knew a vast amount of spells, and had gained great proficiency in spell creation and modification to deal with the escalating war. However, Dumbledore impressed upon Harry the importance of such knowledge for later on after the war, when the wizarding world would need to rebuild itself. (Dumbledore insisted that he would be the one that they would look to, to lead that effort.) So they spent a few hours each evening before dinner discussing different magic, laws, social standings, etc.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Why the long face?" Dumbledore asked on Sunday at dinner. (Sunday was a day off for Harry, so he spent much time talking to his friends.)  
  
"I've been talking to the others a lot lately, particularly Ginny; and she has been saying that Dean Thomas seems a little off, not acting like himself. So I was wondering if he could have been put under the Imperius Curse by a Death Eater. Maybe they're hoping that his involvement with Ginny would make him privy to our whereabouts, and the situation at Hogwarts. What do you think?" Harry asked the ex-headmaster of Hogwarts.  
  
"Hmmm, this is a difficult question. Indeed, your suspicions might prove correct; though I am hesitant to assume it, since your close friends were recently discovered to be acting under the same curse," Dumbledore said in his "researcher mode," as Harry called it.  
  
"So what do you think?" Harry asked the aged sorcerer.  
  
"Perhaps it is merely a case of jealousy?" Dumbledore ventured.  
  
"I don't know; why would he change his whole personality if he was only jealous?" Harry said, asking himself as much as the ex-headmaster.  
  
"Hormones motivate teens to do many strange things; it is the one subject that I don't even attempt to understand," Dumbledore said, as he switched back to senile mode.  
  
"Well I still don't trust him. I think I'll tell the others to keep the whole laptop thing a secret, at least for the time being," Harry said.  
  
Later that evening, when he had logged on at the pre-arranged time with the others, he recounted his conversation with Dumbledore to them, and asked them if they could keep everything they discussed to themselves.  
  
Harry: Hey guys, I was just talking to Dumbledore about something that has bothered me for a few days.  
  
Hermione: What is it, Harry?  
  
Harry: Well, you know what Ginny has said about Dean. I got to thinking that maybe he could have been placed under the Imperius Curse, like you and Ron were. But Dumbledore seems to think that the Death Eaters wouldn't try something like that again, so soon after their last attempt. He just puts Dean's behaviour down to jealousy over something or other, but I don't agree. So could you guys keep what goes on here a secret, at least for a while?  
  
The response was a long time in coming after Harry had sent his last message, and he was getting a bad feeling about it.  
  
Hermione: Sorry, Harry, but Ginny says that they had a big argument last night, and it ended in her telling him what's been taking up her time, about talking to you and all of the spells and such. But I don't think he knows where you are.  
  
Harry: Well, that complicates the situation, but it could be worse. At least only you four know where we are.  
  
Hermione: Actually, Seamus found out. Ron accidentally let it slip, but we swore him to secrecy.  
  
Harry: Okay, but please, please, no more slip-ups.  
  
After that, the conversation turned to a lighter note, as it usually did; and by bedtime, the fact that his location had been leaked was firmly out of his mind, and he got some restful slumber.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry bellowed, lifting a large rock over Dumbledore's head, who was recovering from a blinding spell Harry had cast, in retaliation for the summoning and banishing Dumbledore had repeatedly subjected him to for ten minutes.  
  
"Reducto!" Dumbledore shouted, pointing his wand at the rock.  
  
"Accio!" Harry shouted at the debris, and then banished it towards Dumbledore. He held his left hand away from his body and drew some of the magic from the spell, as he had been doing for the last few spells that had been exchanged. The residual magic from the summoning spell seemed to have provided enough power for Harry. Dumbledore banished the debris away himself, but he wasn't prepared for the magic bomb Harry had created being hurled at his head. There was no way to block such magic in time, so Dumbledore had no choice but to dodge, effectively running into a stunning spell. Harry finished it with a summoning spell to catch his wand, and then a full body bind and freezing charm just for extra measure.  
  
Harry tensely walked over to the prone form of his mentor to inspect him. The last time he had seemingly won, he had let his victory distract him, and failed to notice that Dumbledore had managed to overcome the stunning spell, thus losing the duel himself.  
  
Doing a quick scan with his wand, he found that Dumbledore was indeed out for the count; and then he spent the next five minutes basking in his victory before remembering to revive the ex- headmaster.  
  
"Very well done, Harry! You performed admirably; I must say I wasn't expecting the magic bomb."  
  
"I was counting on that, sir," Harry said with a large grin plastered on his face.  
  
"It seems that you are almost ready, my boy," Dumbledore said with grim satisfaction.  
  
"It doesn't feel like it, though. I mean, how can I kill him, when he is probably immortal by now?" Harry asked, showing his doubt for the first time.  
  
"There will be a way, Harry. The prophecy says that he will be killed by your hand. And when that happens, or heaven forbid he kills you, then he will either be as mortal and dead as can be, or he then truly will be immortal – unless another seer prophesizes another champion," Dumbledore said.  
  
"I'm glad you have faith in my abilities; but I really don't see how we are going to get through this. We still have no way to find out how far along he or Malfoy are with their immortal aspirations," Harry said grimly.  
  
"I very much doubt that Malfoy will become immortal; Tom would reserve the right only for himself," Dumbledore corrected, and then added, "Harry you have a lot going for you: Elemental, wandless, mind-reading, a crystilite focus, two animagus forms," Dumbledore listed, before he was cut off by Harry.  
  
"I only have one at the moment, we have yet to test the other; and until we get some more magic replenishing potions, I'm not trying it. And I still feel like I'm at a disadvantage," Harry said.  
  
"Not to worry; you will have the greater advantage of surprise. There are more ways than the killing curse to kill someone in the wizard and muggle world, you know," said Dumbledore.  
  
Harry sighed in resignation. No matter how much he tried to fight it, he had a destiny laid out for him, and a path to follow.  
  
"I …" Harry was just about to say something to Dumbledore when there was an enormous explosion coming from the outskirts on the other side of the village. Harry glanced quickly at Dumbledore, who nodded his head, and they both disappeared with two small 'pops.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
As they arrived at the scene of the explosion, they found the inn they had earlier been staying at aflame, with the Dark Mark hovering over it, and Death Eaters chasing after the panicking villagers. Beyond the Death Eaters, Harry could see a small contingent of Voldemort's Dead Army, surrounding a cloaked figure that was undoubtedly Malfoy.  
  
"Where do you think Riddle is?" Harry asked over the noise, as he and Dumbledore made their way over to a large group of Death Eaters attacking a small group of villagers.  
  
"He should be here; the only excuse for him not being here would be…" Dumbledore trailed off.  
  
"Another attack!" Harry exclaimed. Seeing Dumbledore's confirmation of his theory, Harry joined the battle with vigour. He blasted the group of Death Eaters away, after summoning the power of their loose curses, and then cast a group stunning spell on them. Meanwhile Dumbledore had decided to make a start on the Dead Army, who were now marching towards the village, with Malfoy remaining where he was.  
  
"Reducto!" Dumbledore shouted, as he pointed his wand at the army; and then he threw a severing charm at another group with his left hand, after summoning some free magic.  
  
"Accio!" Harry shouted at a Death Eater that was approaching a child. As the spell hit, the Death Eater was pulled back down the alley he had been cornering the child in, and was impaled on a lost bit of wood from the inn.  
  
"So, wittle baby Potter has come out to pway!" a whiney, sickening voice said from behind him: Bellatrix Lestrange.  
  
Turning himself around as quick as lightning, Harry hurled a Dark Arts spell at her; it burned the skin away from the area of her forearm it touched. She screamed in agony for only a few seconds before she began laughing. It all reminded Harry of that night at the ministry: he had cast the Cruciatus curse at her; she had started screaming for only a few seconds; then she had begun laughing. The trip down memory lane caused Harry to temporarily block out the events that were taking place before him. He let down his mental shield enough for his mind-reading ability to work again. It was this that saved Harry's life.  
  
"Now's my chance," he heard Lestrange think; and just as he brought himself back to reality, he saw a green light only inches from himself. Doing the only thing that he could think of, Harry thrust his left hand into the path of the curse, and hoped against hope that she wasn't one of the most powerful witches.  
  
Bellatrix's eyes widened in shock and horror as she saw Potter thrust his left hand into the path of the killing curse she had just fired, absorb it, and then throw it back at her. The last thing she ever saw was the grim satisfaction on Potter's face: he had finally got revenge for his godfather.  
  
Once Harry had dealt with Lestrange, he turned his attention once again to the battlefield to see many of the Death Eaters retreating. Deciding it was better to let them go and deal with them later, Harry sought out Dumbledore, and after quickly scanning for his magical signature with his magical eyesight, he apparated over to him.  
  
"Professor, how many have you taken out?" Harry asked Dumbledore.  
  
"About 250, but they keep on coming! It seems everything they touch withers and dies; I've had a few close calls myself," Dumbledore said.  
  
"Then Malfoy must be controlling them; I'll go deal with him," Harry said; and before Dumbledore even opened his mouth to protest, Harry had apparated away.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
This was easier than I thought, Draco smiled to himself. The Death Eaters would destroy the inn and force Potter and Dumbledore into the open, where his master's Dead Army would take care of them. Dumbledore would be a problem, but by the time he reached Draco he would be too exhausted to put up much of a fight. His master would be pleased with him.  
  
Just as he thought that, he noticed a large explosion in the front ranks of the Dead Army, and then a large explosion of blood. Moments later, he heard an ear-splitting shriek, followed by laughter that could only come from his aunt.  
  
'Looks like Potter and Dumbledore are here, but they should at least be injured from the inn explosion! Unless..." Draco thought to himself, until he was cut off by the loud sound of multiple apparation 'pops.' Meanwhile several more explosions had taken place in the army, and the numbers were beginning to thin.  
  
"What is going on?" he asked himself out loud.  
  
"You're losing," a voice answered. Draco spun around, and was confronted with none other than the Boy-Who-Lived himself.  
  
"So, Potter, you managed to escape the inn unharmed! No matter, you won't last long against me," he said with his usual smirk on his substantially disfigured face.  
  
"Escape? I was never there to begin with. Though I am curious where you got your information about where I was staying," Harry answered smoothly, putting to use his more Slytherin qualities.  
  
"That does not concern you, Potter! Now, know your place, and bow to me or die!" Malfoy sneered.  
  
"You think you can kill me where your half-blood master has failed so many times?" Harry asked, now trying to sound cocky and over-confident.  
  
"You liar! My master is of the most noble line of Slytherin!" Malfoy almost screamed, making Harry smirk to himself. He was getting on Malfoy's nerves and making him angry; angry people don't always think straight.  
  
"Be that as it may, his father was not; he was but a mere muggle named Tom Riddle," Harry said in that same silky smooth voice.  
  
"You shut your mouth and don't speak such rubbish, you muggle lover!" Draco replied, trying to regain his composure.  
  
"Or what?" Harry asked, knowing the answer.  
  
"Crucio!" Malfoy screamed. Again Harry stuck his left hand out – but this time not in front of the curse, only discreetly by his side, to absorb as much of it as he could. In not even a second Harry was flooded with pain; but this pain was bearable, if very irritating. Keeping his smirk in place, Harry said, "Is that it?"  
  
"But h-how?" Malfoy stammered.  
  
"Do you really think that you are untouchable? That you and your master are the only sorcerers alive? How arrogant of you! Though I suppose that's all we could have expected from a snotty pureblood like you," Harry said, now lowering his voice to a dangerous level.  
  
"Impossible! You're bluffing! Our spy hasn't reported anything about that!" Draco said in a smooth voice; though his eyes, however unnatural they had become, betrayed him.  
  
"Well, shall we find out if I am?" Harry asked; and not waiting for a response, shot a ball of fire at Malfoy – who, to his credit, kept his head in the situation. With a deep breath, he swallowed the fire before shooting it back at Harry, who banished it easily.  
  
"Stupefy!"  
  
"Protego!"  
  
"Expelliarmus!"  
  
"Accio!"  
  
"Imperio!"  
  
"Reducto!"  
  
"Ignituis savren!" Draco shouted, finally lifting the bar. Harry easily countered it, and shot back with a laceration spell that had been altered by the Dark Arts to lacerate multiple sections of a body part simultaneously.  
  
"Potter what are you doing? That's Dark Arts!" Draco exclaimed in shock, after he had dispelled the attack (suffering the loss of the tips of his fingers – nothing serious to the apprentice of a necromancer).  
  
"I would think that's obvious: you are a dark wizard, yet you do not limit yourself to Dark Arts; I am a light wizard, and I do not limit myself to the Light Arts," Harry replied, and again began firing off curses. But this time he was doing so at such a pace that Malfoy had little time to actually defend or fire off any spells of his own. From a distance he looked as though he were dancing instead of dodging curses.  
  
Harry was beginning to get frustrated with not being able to hit Malfoy with a single spell, so he decided to pre-empt Malfoy's next move by reading his mind. As a result, Malfoy was hit with a disarming spell. But before Harry could do anything more, he was hit from behind by something heavy. It was then that he realised he had underestimated Malfoy's skill. It appeared he had some control over wandless magic, and the disarming spell succeeded in opening a window, as it were, for him to concentrate long enough to attack Harry.  
  
"Not so great after all, Potter!" Malfoy sneered, as blood dripped to the ground from his fingers.  
  
"Don't underestimate me, Malfoy," Harry said; and a split second later he was in the air, levitating himself, to the shock of Malfoy. He began transfiguring rocks into stags, which immediately charged for Malfoy who had summoned his wand and was blowing them up, looking around all the while with wild, feral eyes for an escape route. After a few seconds of random blasting, he finally noticed a clear path into his lord's army, and began heading towards it. But as he approached he stopped in shock: one of the stags was dancing! And another was… laughing… and another was… wobbling around on unsteady legs.  
  
As Harry watched from the sky, he saw Malfoy searching for a way out and finally finding one; so using his knowledge of 'thinking outside the box,' Harry began casting harmless jinxes on the stags – jelly-legs and the like – which appeared to have the desired effect, because Malfoy was stunned with shock. So Harry took advantage of Malfoy's lapse, and stunned him himself; and was just about to tie him up for the aurors, when a large group of the undead army landed from seemingly nowhere onto Malfoy, killing him instantly, causing his body to rot and turn to ash.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
DUMBLEDORE'S POINT OF VIEW  
  
He watched as Harry appeared behind a shocked Malfoy, and the two began their pre-duel monologues. Dumbledore's lapse in concentration almost cost him and the villagers who were trying to help their lives, as a huge swarm of the dead soldiers began heading for him. One of them even came close enough that Dumbledore could smell its unique stench, besides the collective smell the "decayed brigade" gave off. He was saved, however, by one of the town folk, who fired off a reductor curse just in time. Returning to the battle, Dumbledore continued to blast the unnatural army away, until he could see that he and the others were beginning to make a definite difference to the size of it – though he knew that it was far from over if the aurors did not arrive soon. As Dumbledore glanced up again at the duel between Malfoy and Harry, he saw that Malfoy had levitated something behind Harry, who was seemingly unaware of the situation.  
  
'I have to get there now!' Dumbledore thought to himself, and then he got an idea. Screwing up his face in concentration, Dumbledore extended his aura around himself, and then out further and further. The effect that it had on the army was rather surprising: one touch of it, and it appeared that they were just as insubstantial as water as they seemingly melted in on themselves. With this new method, Dumbledore now made faster progress toward Harry. Within only a minute, Dumbledore was nearing the ends of the ranks; but unfortunately he got careless in his excitement about getting to Harry in time, and didn't see the root that was sticking out of the ground; and so he tripped, making him lose concentration and the control of his aura.  
  
"Aarrgghh!" Dumbledore cried out as he fell. 'Get up, you old fool!' he thought to himself furiously. Summoning all of the will power he possessed, he rose to his feet again, only to find that the ranks had closed in on him considerably, and showed no sign of stopping. So Dumbledore decided to do the only thing he could think of in this situation: panic!  
  
Closing his eyes and waiting for the inevitable, Dumbledore felt his emotions rush through him: love, sadness, regret; and then he felt determination. He was determined not to let Harry down, his prodigal grandson. With this new resolution, Albus Dumbledore, greatest magic user of modern times, Supreme Mugwump, Chief Warlock, ex-headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and defeater of the dark wizard Grindelwald, did accidental magic, spurred by his emotions. Dumbledore's aura exploded around him, incinerating any of the nearby army, melting others, and blasting the rest away. When Dumbledore looked to Harry again he saw a group of stags, a pile of ash, and Harry floating above the whole mess.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
HARRY'S POINT OF VIEW  
  
As he looked over to where he thought the dead soldiers had come from, he saw Dumbledore, his aura flaring, staring at him with shock and relief on his aged face.  
  
"What happened, Harry?" Dumbledore asked him, once he had made his way over to Harry.  
  
"After he hit me over the head and said his piece, I levitated myself into the air and conjured a group of stags to surround and attack him. But he found a way out, so I jinxed the stags with jelly legs, and tarantallegra, and others to shock him still. Then I stunned him, and was about to rope him up, when one of those bodies landed on him," Harry explained as he landed on the ground.  
  
"Oh dear, I am afraid that is my fault! I…" Dumbledore was saying, but was cut off as the aurors arrived. (Late again, Harry noted.)  
  
"What is this…" the lead auror began, but was cut off.  
  
"Voldemort's apprentice attacked the village; we managed to defend it. I am certain that Hogwarts is being attacked by Voldemort's full forces as we speak," Dumbledore said urgently. "Gather as many of your men as you can, and get there now!" he commanded.  
  
"Yes sir," the auror said, and then left to brief the others that had shown up with him.  
  
"I think we had best get to the school; there is no telling what could be happening now," Dumbledore said to Harry as he picked up part of the rock that had hit Harry. With a quick "Portus," they were both gone to Hogwarts.  
  
  
  
A/N: And that's it! Another chapter done, and my motivation back and better than ever. We're coming to the end of this fic soon; but fear not: there will be a sequel, plus 3 other fics I'm working on. This chapter was edited by David305, excellent beta!  
  
Thanks to all who have reviewed and spurred me on. I doubt I would have got this chapter done now if it hadn't been for you people.  
  
Until next time!  
  
GG


	17. Goodbye Hermione or Ron?

**Harry Potter and the Rising War  
  
***  
  
Chapter 17: Goodbye Hermione or Ron?**  
  
"What's up with you?" Ginny asked her boyfriend, Dean Thomas. He had had a large grin on his face all day, as though Christmas had come early or something.  
  
"Aren't I just allowed to be happy?" he asked innocently.  
  
"Of course you are, but there must be a reason for your happiness; care to share?" she asked him.  
  
"I have a good feeling about today, that's all," was his cryptic answer. Ginny decided to just let it drop, knowing that she was going to get nothing more out of him. She began a conversation with Hermione across the table from her. The new trio, as they were now called (now that Harry was no longer around) and Dean were all sitting at the Gryffindor table, eating lunch. Suddenly there was a shaking that felt like a massive earthquake to the occupants of Hogwarts.  
  
"What was that?" Ron asked, as he looked around the Great Hall for any sign of danger.  
  
"It felt like an earthquake, but I didn't think we got those here," Hermione responded.  
  
"So if we don't get earthquakes around here, and yet there was one, then…" Ginny was cut off as another quake shook the ground, and the sky began to darken.  
  
"What's happening?" Hermione cried.  
  
"You don't know?" Ron almost shouted at her.  
  
"I don't know everything, you know!" she screamed at him. While the Gryffindor Trio had been having that particular conversation, the other houses began to panic – even including Slytherin, though to a lesser extent.  
  
"Students, calm down! There is nothing to worry about while you are within the walls of Hogwarts; you are all perfectly safe!" the Minister of Magic and headmaster of Hogwarts shouted, or rather tried to shout over the great panic that was overtaking all senses of the student body.  
  
"It must be an attack!" Ginny declared, after faintly hearing the minister try to regain some semblance of control over the students.  
  
"Then why bother with all of the earthquakes?" Ron, ever the dense one, asked.  
  
"They aren't earthquakes!" Hermione exclaimed, glancing up at the minister as another quake rocked the school. It appeared that the headmaster was struggling against some force – against Voldemort's force.  
  
"It's You-Know-Who, he's attacking the wards! He must have gotten information about the school being vulnerable now that Dumbledore and Harry aren't here. But I don't understand why he's attacking now. For all he knows, Harry and Dumbledore could be hiding out in the Forbidden Forest!" Hermione explained, as each head of house took to their duties of rounding up the younger students and moving them to a more secure region of the school.  
  
"But what if he knows that they are far away enough for him to mount a successful attack? What if he sent others after them to delay or even kill them?" Ron theorized. Before anyone could respond, McGonagall, having moved the younger students off, had arrived back into the Great Hall, and began to round up the rest of her house to hide them in Gryffindor tower.  
  
"Hey, where has Dean gone?" Ginny queried on their way up to the tower.  
  
"I don't know, I don't remember seeing him leave; but then I wasn't paying much attention to what Dean was doing," Hermione answered; and then added, "You had better tell McGonagall that he's missing."  
  
"Professor, Professor McGonagall!" Ginny called up to her head of house, who was leading the group of 5th to 7th years up the stairs towards the portrait of the Fat Lady.  
  
"What is it, Miss Weasley? We don't have time to dally," she said in her stern voice.  
  
"I can't see Dean Thomas here! He was with us before we left," Ginny replied with a little worry showing on her otherwise perfect features.  
  
"Are you sure?" she asked; but before she had a chance to reply, a voice called out from the back of the group.  
  
"I'm here, sorry; I got nudged to the back of the group when I dropped my – er – my wand," Dean said, though he sounded slightly out of breath. But Ginny didn't notice this; she was just relieved that he was safe, and apparently so were the others.  
  
"Well now we have that sorted, may we be on our way?" the strict Transfiguration professor asked. Ginny gave her an embarrassed nod, and blushed deeply.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
As soon as the students reached the common room, everyone rushed for a window to see what was going on outside. The view that met them was, to put it bluntly, a nightmare.  
  
Everywhere one looked was utter carnage. Apparently the centaurs had put up a fight, but they didn't last long against the Dead Army of thousands that Voldemort himself was controlling, or the considerably smaller but just as deadly army of Death Eaters. The wards had unsurprisingly fallen, and the Army of Death was approaching the school, with a line of Death Eaters at the front. All hope seemed to be lost until, several seconds later, when the army had gotten completely onto the grounds and was a mere 100 feet away from the school itself, a succession of pops were heard as members from the Order of the Phoenix apparated onto the grounds. Within two minutes of the first ones' arrival, literally hundreds of wizards and witches had appeared.  
  
"There are hundreds of them!" Hermione gasped.  
  
"I knew they had been focusing on recruiting, but I didn't think that they would find so many willing to fight, not yet at least," Ron said in awe.  
  
Within seconds of the first lot of Phoenix members arriving, they started firing curses – mainly focusing on the front line of Death Eaters. The line of Death Eaters were destroyed in a matter of seconds, due in large part to the Dead Army that was still approaching behind them. The light wizards would stun or banish the dark wizards, causing them to be touched in one way or another by the Army of Dead. But they still were left with the larger task of finding an effective way to slow (if not stop) that army from reaching the castle. For the next twenty minutes, the group of light wizards fired off all of the hexes, curses and jinxes they knew, in the hope of finding something effective. But nothing seemed to slow them for long; and slowly but surely, the light wizards began to tire.  
  
Voldemort saw that now was his opportunity to take what he believed was rightly his; so he commanded the army to open up a path and let him through.  
  
"Oh no, He's coming!" a fifth year screamed.  
  
"Look at him, he looks like a demon! We're all doomed!" shouted a 7th year.  
  
"Look out!" screeched a group of 7th years, as a herd of dead dragons came into view and flew unwaveringly and at unthinkable speeds towards the tower, showing no sign of slowing down.  
  
"We have to get out!" Ron yelled. He grabbed hold of Hermione and Ginny and made for the door; but it was a messy business, as all the other Gryffindors from 5th year and up had the same idea.  
  
"The fireplace!" Hermione gasped out, as she was squashed in between the wall and a particularly large 5th year.  
  
"You first, Ginny," Ron said as he grabbed the floo powder that was always kept on the mantle of the fireplace since the start of the year.  
  
"Where am I going?" she asked in a panicked voice.  
  
"Harry said there was a room off to the side of the Great Hall where he and the other champions went; I think he said there was a fireplace there. Try saying 'The Great Hall,'" Hermione said breathlessly, still suffering from the squashing she had been subjected to.  
  
Ginny nodded her head, then threw the powder into the fireplace and screamed, "The Great Hall," and in a whoosh of emerald green flames, she was gone.  
  
"It worked, excellent! Hermione, you next; then you, Dean," Ron said, but before he even got halfway through, he noticed that Dean wasn't around again. Searching around the common room, he spotted Dean in the fireplace, just before he disappeared in the same fashion as Ginny had.  
  
"Why that little..."  
  
"Ron, we don't have time for that! Come on, we'll have to go together. Hold on to me," Hermione said, regaining her senses.  
  
"Fine," Ron relented; and they both stepped into the fireplace, called out "The Great Hall," and were gone also. Moments after they were gone there was a mighty crash, and Gryffindor tower was no more – and neither were the few students that hadn't made it out in time. Those that survived the impact were lost to the touch of the dead dragon.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Oh, shit!" Remus Lupin cursed, as he saw the Dead Soldiers separate and a lone figure step forward, clad in black robes, hood covering his head and shadows hiding his face. But within the shadows he could see the red eyes that glowed with unsuppressed, unspeakable and unfathomable power.  
  
"Yes indeed, Werewolf!" it said with a hiss of a voice, for this being in front of Lupin was no longer human. It had no human remorse for what it did, no human love; it just barely still had a human shape.  
  
"So, this is what your puny life has led up to! A fight against the winning side, against the powerful side, just so you can satisfy your – What do you call it? … ah yes, conscience. Pathetic."  
  
"Avada Kedavra!" one particularly bold wizard yelled. Voldemort merely looked on as the green light raced towards him; and when it was only inches away, flung his arms out to expose himself to the curse. To everyone's surprise, it was harmlessly absorbed into his body with no further effect.  
  
"You see?" it yelled, its snake-like voice thick with insanity and excitement. "I cannot be killed! You all signed your lives away when you joined the so-called Light! Pathetic. Look at what darkness has given me; LOOK AT ALL I AM!" it yelled with glee, as it pulled the hood back to reveal the most grotesquely disfigured thing to exist on earth.  
  
"He did it! … He did it." That was the single sentence whispered from the mouth of some unknown wizard, carried by the wind and heard all across the battleground. Voldemort had attained immortality.  
  
"And where are your saviours? Where are Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter? Gone! Right this minute, they are being finished off by my apprentice, with an Army of Dead and Death Eaters. There is no one left to save you now!" Voldemort screamed with glee.  
  
"There will always be someone left, Tom" a single, high pitched voice carried over the general noise being made. No one had noticed the doors to Hogwarts open slightly and a small figure scurry out.  
  
"It has been a long time, has it not?" the voice asked as it came into view.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"He was my student, Minerva; I feel a responsibility to stop him, or at least slow him down. After all, I was the one who taught him how to duel," squeaked the small charms teacher, Professor Flitwick.  
  
"Regardless of that fact, we need you here to keep the students safe, should the Order fall," Minerva McGonagall replied. She had taken over the reins of the castle, and assumed the role of head when the minister had collapsed, due to the battering the wards were taking.  
  
"What can I do here? Should the Order fail, then a few Hogwarts professors will be little more than bugs to him. Have you never heard of the muggle saying, 'United we stand, divided we fall?' I could make a difference out there. If I kept him busy, then the Order could hold off that unholy army. It's our only hope, until Albus gets here," the tiny professor said, in a tone of voice that clearly meant business.  
  
"Very well then, but on your own head be it," McGonagall said in her usual stern, clipped voice; but then added in a softer voice, "Be careful, Filius, and good luck."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So, Professor, come to punish the naughty student for misusing your teachings?" it taunted. To everyone's surprise, Professor Flitwick came into view.  
  
"I am here to deliver punishment, yes; but also revenge. Too many have suffered for too long. We finish this now!" the tiny professor said, his voice as hard as nails. In the blink of an eye, the Hogwarts charms professor was engulfed in a bright aura of yellow, with the occasional scattering of silver. This move earned many gasps from the collected witches and wizards. For many had heard tales of the charms professor: that he was once a duelling champion, that he had a power that was only second to Dumbledore's. But many had dispelled the tales as only rumours. Now they could see they were wrong.  
  
"Very good, Filius; impressive for a wizard, I'll give you that; but it is nothing compared to a Sorcerer!" Voldemort said in his serpentine voice, ending in a scream, as he pushed out his aura of blood red, with many flecks of black swirling within it. The amount of blackness could have easily taken up half of the aura, had it not been scattered around. The difference in size was easily visible, but Flitwick did not seem bothered by such a thing.  
  
"Power is not everything, Tom," he commented, and then readied himself.  
  
"We shall see," was the easy reply, before a barrage of hexes and curses, mostly from the Dark Arts, were hurled at Flitwick.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Where is he now?" Ginny almost screamed in frustration, as Dean was again nowhere to be found.  
  
"Ginny, it's okay! I think he went to a different grate; maybe he didn't hear where I said to go," Ron tried to reassure his sister. The entire student body (that was still alive) was now gathered in the Great Hall. Apparently all of the houses had been attacked, as well as the safe place for the lower years. The survivors had all made their way back to the Great Hall, and were now all currently waiting for some news about what was going on. Flitwick had left the Entrance Hall not two minutes after the trio had arrived; and since then there had been nothing but loud explosions and the sickly smell of rotting flesh and decayed corpses (both from Dark Arts curses used on the light wizards when they apparated in, and from the Army of the Dead).  
  
"I just wish I knew what was going on!" Hermione exclaimed, and as if on cue to her wish, the doors were blasted open, and a full-fledged Wizard's Duel came into view. It was between the small charms professor and the most feared dark lord in a century, if not ever before!  
  
"What does he think he can achieve? He won't last five minutes!" Ron almost bellowed.  
  
"I guess he's lasted since he went out, and that was… over five minutes ago," Hermione said as she checked her watch. When the two duellists had entered the Hall, there was once again a massive rush – but this time not for the exit door, but for the furthest wall away from the door.  
  
"Descendo"  
  
"Absrenchium"  
  
"Aquarium solararum!"  
  
the two were swapping curses faster than some people could blink; but the last curse caught the charms professor before he could apparate away. He was impaled by a large icicle in his left lung, and collapsed to the floor breathing hard.  
  
"No!" a few of the students gasped, earning them the full attention of Voldemort.  
  
"Well well well, how the mighty have fallen! As I speak, Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter are probably being tortured until they plead for their deaths; an Army of Death is waiting for my call to purge the school; and the Minister of Magic is lying at death's door," he said, sparing a quick glance at the weakened minister laying on a table in the entrance hall.  
  
"And all of this has come about, thanks to one of my most loyal spies. Come forward, young one," Voldemort announced, and then beckoned one of the many cloaked figures forward.  
  
"My lord," he said, as he knelt at Voldemort's feet.  
  
"Reveal yourself, and then kill the mudblood friend of Potter's," it commanded.  
  
"Yes, my lord," the spy said, as he got to his feet and pulled back his hood to reveal the smirking face of Dean Thomas.  
  
"Noooooo!" Ginny screamed, and collapsed to the floor in tears, while Ron seethed with rage.  
  
"You little… I'm gonna… You better… Pain!" he ground out between clenched teeth, so overwhelmed by anger that he could not string together a coherent thought.  
  
"Now now, Ron, be good, and my lord might just spare you," Dean said with a boyish grin on his face.  
  
"Now we end this pitiful era and start afresh, the way it should have been, the way the great Salazar Slytherin wanted it. KILL THE MUDBLOOD!" Voldemort roared.  
  
"Avada Kedavra!" Dean screamed, as he pointed his wand at Hermione. The blast of green light shot out and headed straight for where she would have been, had Ron not pushed her out of the way.  
  
"Oh shit!" was Ron's last thought, as he scrunched up his eyes to wait for the inevitable.   
  
*******************************************  
  
A/N: Look at that! Another chapter done, and the day after the last. I told you I had my drive back. Sorry about the shortness of this chapter, but I find it harder to write action scenes. Hope this suffices; if not, all suggestions are welcome. Thanks for all the reviews.  
  


[last edited March 17, 2004, David305] As always thanks to my Beta, David305  
  


Until next time.  
GG  
  
 


	18. The Final Confrontation?

**A/N: IMPORTANT! THERE IS A SEQUEL ALREADY POSTED, CALLED RISE OF A CHAMPION SO PLEASE NO MORE FLAMES SAYING HOW MUCH I RUINED THIS FIC WHEN I HAVE CLEARLY STATED IN BOTH THIS AUTHOR NOTE AND THE FINAL ONE AT THE BOTTOM.**

**Harry Potter and the Rising War  
  
***  
  
Chapter 18: The Final Confrontation?**  
  
He braced himself for the impact of the deadly spell that would arrive any moment now. But seconds passed, and still nothing had happened. Opening one eye, Ron looked around to see what had happened; but what he saw surprised him in a way nothing else could have: the killing curse was hovering – no more than 3 inches away from his nose.  
  
"What is this?" screamed Voldemort.  
  
Silence rang through the air after the Dark Lord's outburst, until it was broken by a powerful and commanding voice.  
  
"Retribution!" was all it said; and then a figure stepped from the Entrance Hall into the Great Hall.  
  
*****************************************  
  
During the transition from Godric's Hollow to Hogwarts, Harry had summoned on the battle clothes that he had created during his free time after he had completed the house.  
  
  
***************flashback******************  
  
"Professor?" Harry asked the old man, trying to get his attention.  
  
"Yes, Harry?" he asked as he looked up from the large tome he had been reading.  
  
"I was wondering if you could show me my family crest, and Sirius'?" he asked  
  
"Certainly, Harry; but if I may ask, what for?" the ex-headmaster inquired.  
  
"Well you see, sir, I had an idea of creating a new one – seeing as how I was named Sirius' heir, and that of the Gryffindors. I was also wondering if you would mind... if I added yours to it also," Harry asked with a little uncertainty. Dumbledore smiled his grandfatherly smile once more at Harry, who took it as a good sign.  
  
Later that evening, Harry was in his room, sitting at his desk with a few pieces of parchment sprawled out in front of him, as well as a few books. He was trying to find a balance between all of the crests, so he could transfer it onto the all-white cloths he had purchased at the beginning of the year, when he had gone to the muggle superstore.  
  
After nearly an hour, Harry was happy with his results. The completed crest was shaped in a classic crest form, and looked perfect to him. It had a phoenix (From the Potter family crest) facing forward, with its head thrown back in a silent cry of phoenix song; and its wing in front of its body seemed to be hugging a smaller crest. This had a lion from the Gryffindor crest, pouncing forward with its teeth bared. Surrounding the middle crest were many stars; in one top corner hung a crescent moon from the Dumbledore line; and in the bottom corner of the outside crest, from the Black line, a Grim stood (with its tongue lolling out in true Sirius fashion) facing the lion and phoenix. Under the crests were the words, 'In Sanguine, Amore Et Fide Conjuncti' meaning 'United In Blood, Love and Honor' displayed on a ribbon background. The colouring for the crest was black and white, and all of the shading in between – except for the eyes of all the creatures, which in dedication to his mother were all emerald green. After Harry had researched the spells that he would need to transfer the image to his clothes, Harry created spells that would allow him to link the clothes to all of his others (Counterparts only) so he need only speak the activation word ("Honour") and the clothes would be transferred to him.  
  
************end flashback***************  
  
When Harry and Dumbledore arrived at Hogwarts, they both headed straight for the Great Hall where they knew the teachers would be, so they could get up to speed on the situation. However, as they neared, they heard someone talking.  
  
"Now we end this pitiful era and start afresh, the way it should have been, the way the great Salazar Slytherin wanted it. KILL THE MUDBLOOD!" Voldemort roared.  
  
"Avada Kedavra!" Dean screamed, as he pointed his wand at Hermione. The blast of green light shot out and headed straight for where she would have been, had Ron not pushed her out of the way.  
  
"Oh shit!" was Ron's last thought, as he scrunched up his eyes to wait for the inevitable.  
  
Acting as fast as possible, Harry began summoning the free magic from the air; however, he was too far away to call the spell to himself. So all he managed to do was suspend it in midair; but that was enough.  
  
"What is this?" screamed Voldemort.  
  
Silence rang through the air after the Dark Lord's outburst, until it was broken by Harry's powerful and commanding voice.  
  
"Retribution!" was all he said, and then he stepped from the Entrance Hall into the Great Hall.  
  
*****************************************  
  
The silence that was now in the air was palpable, as every one looked to the figures now standing just inside the Great Hall, both giving off such power that one could almost taste it. The first figure was dressed all in white clothes, styled for battle, with a family crest right in the centre of his top clothing; he had tied-back shoulder-length hair, and a neatly trimmed short beard. His eyes almost seemed to glow green with power. The figure that was standing next to him was wearing royal blue robes, with a very long beard; he was giving off more power than the other figure, and his blue eyes sparkled with untold knowledge. The second figure was Dumbledore, expressing his commanding presence in a way that few had had the pleasure (or displeasure, depending on who you were) to see. This was the sort of thing that earned him the title, "the greatest sorcerer of modern times."  
  
After everyone had taken in the two newcomers, the crowd quickly realized that if one of these people were Dumbledore, then the other undoubtedly had to be their saviour, Harry Potter. They were all relieved and awed that someone could stop a killing curse, apparently with ease, and suspend it floating in mid air. This was not the Harry Potter that they had come to know during the 6 years he had attended the school.  
  
"So, you managed to escape?" Riddle said casually, as if they were only discussing the weather, not the attempted destruction of their lives.  
  
"I would have thought that was obvious, Tom," Harry said venomously. The name that Harry used seemed to confuse the majority of the crowd, students and Death Eaters alike.  
  
"Shut up, boy! You had better know your place, and speak only when your master commands you to!" Riddle snapped at him, angry that Harry had spoken out and used his given name.  
  
"I do know my place, Tom. It has been planned out for me since before I was born. I know my place, and I intend to take it," Harry replied in a deadpan voice.  
  
"Of what do you speak, Potter?" snapped Voldemort.  
  
"The Prophecy, Tom; the Prophecy." Harry replied easily. While they had been exchanging 'pleasantries,' Harry had opened up his mind-reading 'gift'; and while probing around the countless people, Harry quickly got up to date with the situation, and relayed this information via Legilimency and mind reading to Dumbledore.  
  
No one seemed to notice Dumbledore's hand glowing discreetly at his side, which Dumbledore was grateful for. During the exchange between the two opponents, Dumbledore had been drawing the free magic Hogwarts offered to his hand, and was starting to change it so it would form a protective shield around the students.  
  
"What do you know of the Prophecy?" Riddle said hungrily.  
  
"And what makes you think I would tell you such a thing?" Harry asked, with disgust on his face.  
  
"Because if you do, I shall spare your friends' lives, and yours," he replied, as if he were offering some great honour.  
  
"You would not live long enough to kill them; that is not much of a bargaining chip, Tom," Harry said, still with disgust on his face.  
  
"You think yourself so high and mighty, Potter, but I know you are bluffing! I know Dumbledore stopped that curse, not you. Were you hoping to give this pathetic bunch of idiots some hope of defeating me? You have nothing, Potter; all you are is a lucky wizard with no wand, and above average power for someone your age," Riddle said, as if he had just realised it himself.  
  
"You assume to know too much, Tom," Harry replied; and then there was a blinding light that lasted little more than a second – and when it disappeared, a barrier was clearly visible around the students and remaining teachers.  
  
"What have you done, old man?" Voldemort screamed at Dumbledore.  
  
"I have given the students hope; now it's Harry's turn to turn that hope into reality," Dumbledore said as he stepped back, whispering a 'good luck' to Harry.  
  
"You place too much faith in the boy. He has no wand; and as soon as I kill him, and you, your pathetic wards will fall, and I will have won," Voldemort said, clearly anticipating glory.  
  
"Just like your pathetic apprentice, you underestimate me," Harry said; and for the first time since he arrived, he moved his hands from behind his back to be seen clearly by his side. "Do you know what this is, Tom?" Harry asked him casually, and he took pleasure in seeing a brief flash of surprise and ... horror in his face.  
  
"No! Impossible, you don't have such powers; my spy would have told me," Riddle said in his serpentine voice.  
  
"Ah yes, the spy," Harry said, as he now focused his attention on Dean, who had the good grace to cower.  
  
"You will pay, Thomas; both in this life, and then in the next. And you had better hope that when you are judged they will show mercy on your weak, pathetic soul, because when I've dealt with Riddle, I sure as hell won't," Harry said in a deadly whisper. Turning his attention back to Riddle, Harry said, "And here I thought you only took in pure-bloods – as ironic as it is, Half-blood," Harry said in a mock voice.  
  
"Silence! I have in me the blood of the greatest of the four founders. I am nobility, and I have rights to this castle; it is mine!" Voldemort screamed insanely.  
  
"There were others who built it, Tom. It is theirs as well; it is mine as well." Harry said.  
  
"Impossible, you are no heir," Voldemort sneered at him.  
  
"I beg to differ; the Potter family are named the heirs to the Gryffindor line, as well as the Black and now Dumbledore lines," Harry said, and then motioned to his crest.  
  
"That will not save you, Potter, and neither will your power!" Voldemort shouted back.  
  
"We shall see, Tom," Harry said; and then a light flashed again, and when it was gone there was bubble surrounding Harry and Riddle.  
  
"We finish this now, Tom! It's time to end it," Harry said, and got into duelling stance.  
  
"You fool, I am immortal! I cannot die!" Riddle exclaimed.  
  
"Everyone dies eventually. Lux Vitae," Harry shouted, as he aimed the glove at Riddle, who was caught unawares and was hit with the "light of life" spell.  
  
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" it screamed in agony, as the spell seeped into his body.  
  
"What have you done!" he cried.  
  
"Given you a sort of life, if you will; I can kill your body, but the soul is unfortunately immortal still," Harry said, and popped out of the way with disapparation, as Riddle fired off an obscure curse. The two sorcerers began a duel, with neither holding back.  
  
"Stupefy," said Harry.  
  
"Expelliarmus," said Harry.  
  
"Accio," said Harry.  
  
"Crucio," said Riddle.  
  
"Oculi Flagrati," said Riddle.  
  
The duel continued in this fashion for what seemed to the onlookers like hours. Both duellists were attacking, defending, dodging and countering. To those who had been present at the ministry at the end of Harry's year, the duel looked much the same: they were conjuring objects, animating them, firing off hexes and curses that no one had heard of, and apparating all over the Hall.  
  
After nearly 20 minutes of duelling, the pair separated to the very edges of the space Harry had designated with the bubble.  
  
"So Potter, you can duel; but my power still surpasses yours. You need the aid of a Magical focus while I, I need nothing," Voldemort sneered gleefully.  
  
"Again, you assume too much," Harry told him, but he didn't remove the glove to prove himself. Thanks to his mind-reading ability, he knew that was what Riddle was waiting for. "I have more up my sleeve than you think," Harry said; and he jumped back into the battle by summoning and throwing a ball of elemental fire at Riddle, who just managed to move out of the way in time.  
  
"No, this cannot be; it's impossible!" Riddle said; and for the first time, he began to doubt he would leave alive.  
  
"Impossible doesn't apply to me," Harry said; and then screamed "Sanguis Fervefactus," which shocked all who knew what it was: a dark arts curse.  
  
"Cruciamentum Mentis!" Riddle screamed back, hitting Harry full on and dropping him to his knees as his mind exploded with pain. He was experiencing every bit of pain he had ever felt in one rush, and it was torture; he wanted to just give up and move on right there.  
  
"See how the mighty have fallen!" Riddle exclaimed at the twitching Harry on the floor. "This is what happens to all who oppose me!" Riddle said, with a grin on his face at having beaten Harry.  
  
"Crucio," he said, and Harry's pain was doubled.  
  
" Crucio, Crucio! ... Take that, boy; There's Potter, get him; Come on, big D" were some of the memories Harry had associated with pain playing out in his mind. He wanted it to end; he wanted out of here, and he didn't know what he could do. As he was trying to think of a way to disappear off the face of the earth, an extract in a book he had read came forward in his mind.  
  
"Cruciamentum Mentis: Torture of the mind. Though this spell is one of the worst in use in the present day, it is not an unforgivable, due to the fact that with enough concentration the victim can throw it off. It is merely a battle of wills; the pain is not real, and all you must do is believe it."  
  
"It's not real, it isn't real, the pain isn't there. It's all in the past," Harry repeated over and over in his head as a mantra, and eventually the pain began to dull, dull further, and then disappear altogether. When he began to come back to himself more, Harry realised that Voldemort had taken his glove and kicked it out of the bubble, and he also noticed that Riddle was gloating so much he had not realised that Harry had thrown off the curse. A plan quickly formulated in Harry's mind, and he decided that he had no other choice but to put it into action. So closing his eyes, Harry began to draw the free magic in the air to himself, and focus it onto one objective: explode around him, and take everything in blasting distance down.  
  
"You, mighty Dumbledore, will be next; and then those that still wish to oppose me will die," Riddle was still gloating about his 'victory.' Harry waited a few more minutes until Riddle was in full swing with his next 'announcement of the new world,' and sprang to his feet and shouted, "Tutela Potestatis" and summoned the most powerful shield he could around himself, and released the built up power.  
  
At once the bubble exploded with a massive amount of green light. Everyone thought it was the killing curse at first, until the light expanded so much it shattered the bubble they had been duelling in.  
  
When the smoke cleared, everyone looked on in amazement. Standing in the middle of the now cratered floor was Harry Potter. He seemed to be in terrible pain, but also standing not much further away was Voldemort, who seemed to be much the worse for wear.  
  
"Very… good… Potter. Another… of… your… abilities?" Riddle gasped out between deep breaths.  
  
"Your time… has… come, Riddle," Harry replied, and then he raised his hand and shouted, "Concha Metallica." The result of the spell was a metal shell forming around Riddle, and an anti-apparation ward being put into place. Breathing a sigh of relief, Harry collapsed to his knees, happy that he had contained the threat for now. Everyone watched in joy as the Dark Lord was contained in a metal shell, and felt relief that they had come out of this alive. The Death Eaters that had been with the Dark Lord had been rounded up by Dumbledore, and the dementors chased away. Things looked to be over.  
  
But just as Harry was about to fall into blissful unconsciousness, he heard a spell being cast by six voices: "Avada Kedavra," and he felt the impact and knew no more. Everyone watched in shock as their hero fell to the floor, lifeless and still.  
  
"Harry!" Dumbledore cried out and ran to him, hoping that Harry had been able to do something to protect himself. But when he got there his worst nightmare was confirmed: Harry Potter had been killed – shot in the back with the killing curse.  
  
"Who did it?" Dumbledore shouted above the ruckus that had now replaced the deathly silence.  
  
Six aurors, holding their wands out, stood around a figure. "It needed to be done, Albus," Fudge said as he stepped from the shadows, and gave a signal. The aurors lowered their wands.  
  
"Cornelius!" Dumbledore said in shock.  
  
"He was using the Dark Arts; he needed to be dealt with before he took over from You-Know-Who. You know what the Dark Arts do to its users," Fudge said calmly.  
  
"How else was Harry meant to deal with him? Use stunners and impedimenta?" Dumbledore asked incredulously.  
  
"I dealt with a problem that I foresaw would arise in the future. I have saved our people a great many lives. Did you see all that boy could do? He could have killed us all in moments," Fudge explained, and he seemed to be convincing some of the more sheeplike among the students.  
  
"Cornelius, I am disgusted with you. You had better watch your back; there are a great many people that will seek revenge for this enormity," Dumbledore said loudly, then in a whisper added, "and I am one of them," before he turned his back and walked over to Harry's body.  
  
"Don't touch it; I shall be disposing of it as I see fit," Fudge said, and then signalled two of the aurors, who stepped forward to take it.  
  
"The least you could do, Fudge, is to let Harry's friends say a proper goodbye," Dumbledore said, with his rarely-used angry voice.  
  
"The ministry is taking the body. We shall run some tests on it to make sure it is truly finished, and to see if there was a reason why the boy was so powerful with wandless and elemental magic; and if there is anything left then you shall have it back," the minister sneered, and then left the hall with a limp.  
  
During the time the minister had been talking to Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had been escorted to the hospital wing. Each of them had shut down completely when they had seen Harry's lifeless body looking directly at them.  
  
Each of the students were lost in their own minds, thinking about their departed friend: his cheeky grin, his emerald eyes twinkling with knowledge and laughter, his bravery, his selflessness, and most of all his love. They had not realised it until it was gone, but Harry always exuded a feeling of love to those closest to him, not merely in proximity but in friendship and family; and now it was gone.  
  
He was gone.  
  
******************************************  
A/N: That's it. This story is over; Voldemort is captured and Harry's dead. Fudge is a bastard and Harry's friends and family are in shock. … But fear not! There will be a sequel very soon; there is much ,much more to be done and said and explained! Until then, thank you all for the reviews, a big ,big ,big thank you to david305 for reworking this chapter and correcting my (many) mistakes. See you soon; oh, and look out for my other projects that will be arriving at the same time! See y'all soon!  
  
  
GG


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